Dietary Intake of Acrylamide and Risk of Breast, Endometrial, and Ovarian Cancers: A Systematic Review and Dose-Response Meta-analysis

Acrylamide is a probable human carcinogen. Aside from occupational exposures and smoking, diet is the main source of exposure in humans. We performed a systematic review of the association between estimated dietary intake of acrylamide and risk of female breast, endometrial, and ovarian cancers in nonexperimental studies published through February 25, 2020, and conducted a dose-response meta-analysis. We identified 18 papers covering 10 different study populations: 16 cohort and two case-control studies. Acrylamide intake was associated with a slightly increased risk of ovarian cancer, particularly among never smokers. For endometrial cancer, risk was highest at intermediate levels of exposure, whereas the association was more linear and positive among never smokers. For breast cancer, we found evidence of a null or inverse relation between exposure and risk, particularly among never smokers and postmenopausal women. In a subgroup analysis limited to premenopausal women, breast cancer risk increased linearly with acrylamide intake starting at 20 mg/day of intake. High acrylamide intake was associated with increased risks of ovarian and endometrial cancers in a relatively linear manner, especially among never smokers. Conversely, little association was observed between acrylamide intake and breast cancer risk, with the exception of premenopausal women.