990374 Smoked Foods Linked to Colorectal Cancer

New York - Consuming a diet heavy on nitrosamine compounds -- as found in smoked and pickled foods and foods preserved using salt -- may increase the risk of colorectal cancer, suggest researchers from Finland.

In a study of 9,985 people followed for up to 24 years, those who consumed the highest amounts of a compound known as NDMA (N-nitrosodimethylamine) had had more than twice the risk of developing colorectal cancer as those who did not, according to a report in the March 15th issue of the International Journal of Cancer.

In particular, people who consumed smoked and salted fish had nearly 2.6 times the risk of cancer compared with their same-age peers.

“The main sources of NDMA in the present population were smoked/salted fish, cured meats/sausages and beer,” the authors write. But the study showed no association between consuming fresh fish or other types of meat and colorectal cancer, or in beer alone.

Dr. Paul Knekt, of the National Public Health Institute in Helsinki, Finland, and colleagues compared the 189 people who developed gastrointestinal cancer during the study with those who did not develop the disease.

“Our results are in line with the idea that N-nitroso compounds can induce colorectal cancer in humans,” the researchers conclude. The study participants' intake of nitrites and NDMA were estimated based on a dietary history interview taken between 1966 and 1972, when all participants were cancer-free.

There was no association between NDMA intake and cancers of the head, neck or stomach, or between nitrate or nitrite intake and gastrointestinal tract cancers.

The good news is that nitrosamines are becoming less common in processed food. “During recent years, the levels of nitrosamines in foods such as cured meats and beer have been markedly reduced due to changes in the methods of processing,” Knekt and colleagues note.

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