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Consumption of Deep-Fried Food Linked to Increased Prostate Cancer Risk

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Aggressive disease linked to eating fried foods at least once a week

In the first study of its kind, researchers sought to determine the effects of deep-fried food consumption on the risk of prostate cancer. Study results, published online in The Prostate, show that regular consumption of deep-fried foods such as French fries, fried chicken, and doughnuts correlates with an increased risk of prostate cancer. Moreover, the effect appears to be slightly stronger with regard to more aggressive forms of the disease.

For the study, corresponding author Janet L. Stanford, PhD, of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center’s Public Health Sciences Division, and colleagues analyzed data from 2 prior population-based case-control studies. The studies involved Caucasian and African-American Seattle-area residents. The men ranged in age from 35 to 74 years; 1549 were diagnosed with prostate cancer and 1492 were age-matched healthy controls. Dietary questionnaires regarding food intake (including specific deep-fried foods) were completed by participants.

Study results showed that risk of prostate cancer increased among men who reported eating French fries, fried chicken, and fried fish and/or doughnuts at least once a week, compared with men who reported eating these foods less than once a month. More specifically, the increased risk of prostate cancer ranged from 30% to 37% for men who ate 1 or more of these foods at least weekly. Furthermore, a slightly greater risk of more aggressive prostate cancer was associated with weekly consumption of these foods.

“The link between prostate cancer and select deep-fried foods appeared to be limited to the highest level of consumption – defined in our study as more than once a week – which suggests that regular consumption of deep-fried foods confers particular risk for developing prostate cancer,” Stanford said.

Due to the dramatic increase in fast-food restaurants and fast-food consumption in the United States in the past several decades, the authors wrote that it is possible that the link between these foods and prostate cancer risk may be a sign of high consumption of fast foods in general.

Source: Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.