A new study has reported that there is no evidence of an association between dietary acrylamide intake and risk of breast cancer. However, a link between acrylamide intake and risk of premenopausal breast cancer is possible and deserves further investigation. Acrylamide is formed during high-temperature processing or cooking of many common foods such as French fries, potato chips, baked goods and coffee. No studies to date have demonstrated a clear association between dietary acrylamide intake and risk of breast cancer, although a link to endometrial cancer has been reported. The study included 33,731 women aged 35 to 69 years from the UK Women's Cohort Study. Dietary acrylamide intake was estimated using a 217-item food questionnaire. The women were followed for a median of 11 years. A total of 1,084 breast cancers were diagnosed among the study group during the follow-up period.

No relationship between dietary acrylamide intake and overall risk of breast cancer was found. However, when the results were examined according to menopausal status, a weak positive association was found between acrylamide intake and premenopausal breast cancer. Women with high acrylamide intake were found to have a 20% increased risk of breast cancer, but this association was barely significant statistically. There was no evidence of any association with risk of postmenopausal breast cancer.