Dietary acrylamide intake and the risk of cancer among Finnish male smokers

Objective To assess the association between dietary acrylamide intake and the risk of cancer among male smokers. Methods The study consisted of 27,111 male smokers, aged 50-69 years, without history of cancer. They were participants of the Alpha-Tocopherol, Beta-Carotene Cancer Prevention (ATBC) Study in Finland. The men completed a validated dietary questionnaire and a questionnaire on general background characteristics (including smoking habits) at baseline. Incident cases of cancer were identified through the national Finnish Cancer Registry. Results During an average 10.2 year follow-up, 1,703 lung cancers, 799 prostate cancers, 365 urothelial cancers, 316 colorectal cancers, 224 stomach cancers, 192 pancreatic cancers, 184 renal cell cancers, and 175 lymphomas were diagnosed. Dietary acrylamide intake was positively associated with the risk of lung cancer; relative risk (RR) in the highest versus the lowest quintile in the multivariable-adjusted model was 1.18 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.01-1.38, p for trend 0.11). Other cancers were not associated with acrylamide intake. Conclusions High acrylamide intake is associated with increased risk of lung cancer but not with other cancers in male smokers.