Deep-fried foods have previously been linked to cancers of the breast, lung, pancreas, head and neck, and esophagus. Janet L. Stanford, from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center (Washington, USA), and colleagues analyzed data from two prior population-based case-control studies involving a total of 1,549 men, age from 35 to 74 years, diagnosed with prostate cancer and 1,492 age-matched healthy controls. The team found that men who reported eating French fries, fried chicken, fried fish and/or doughnuts at least once a week were at an increased risk of prostate cancer as compared to men who said they ate such foods less than once a month. In particular, men who ate one or more of these foods at least weekly had an increased risk of prostate cancer that ranged from 30 to 37%. Weekly consumption of these foods was associated also with a slightly greater risk of more aggressive prostate cancer. The researchers explain that possible mechanisms for the increased cancer risk may include the production of acrylamide (found in carbohydrate-rich foods such as French fries), heterocyclic amines and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (chemicals formed when meat is cooked at high temperatures), aldehyde (an organic compound found in perfume) and acrolein (a chemical found in herbicides). As well, foods cooked with high heat also contain high levels of advanced glycation endproducts, or AGEs, which have been associated with chronic inflammation and oxidative stress. Deep-fried foods are among the highest in AGE content. The study authors warn that: “Regular consumption of select deep-fried foods is associated with increased [prostate cancer] risk.”
