Cancer is a leading cause of death worldwide and diet is thought to play a substantial role in cancer development. Food contaminants like aflatoxins, alcohol, dioxins, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, nitrosamines, and toxins found in salted fish and maté have been classified as carcinogenic or probably carcinogenic to humans based on studies in animals and humans. Many of these contaminants are known to cause liver, respiratory tract, and other cancers depending on the contaminant. Ongoing research and risk assessments by government agencies continue to evaluate links between diet, food contaminants, and cancer risk.

1. C A R C I N O G E N I C F O O D
C O N TA M I N A N T S
B Y : S A K S H I S H I R A M , S E M V I I I

2. I N T R O D U C T I O N
• C a n c e r i s a l e a d i n g c a u s e o f d e a t h
w o r l d w i d e a n d d i e t i s t h o u g h t t o p l a y
a s u b s t a n t i a l r o l e i n c a n c e r
e t i o l o g y .
• T h e i m p o r t a n c e o f f o o d c o n t a m i n a n t s
i n t h e l i n k b e t w e e n d i e t a n d c a n c e r
h a s b e e n w i d e l y s t u d i e d a n d f o r m a l
r i s k a s s e s s m e n t s a r e r o u t i n e l y
c o m p l e t e d b y s e v e r a l g o v e r n m e n t a l
a n d i n t e r n a t i o n a l a g e n c i e s .

3. C A R C I N O G E N C L A S S I F I C AT I O N S
The National Toxicology Program and the IARC monographs use different categorizations in
their conclusions about the human carcinogenicity of substances depending on the quality of
the evidence available.
Group1 carcinogenic
to humans
Group 2A probably
carcinogenic to
humans;
Group 2B, possibly
carcinogenic to
humans
Group 3, not
classifiable as to
carcinogenicity in
humans
Group 4, probably not
carcinogenic

4. F O O D C O N TA M I N A N T S
W H I C H P O S E A
C A R C I N O G E N I C T H R E AT
T O H U M A N S

5. AFLATOXIN
• Aflatoxins are a class of toxic metabolites produced by
certain species of fungi.
• Laboratory studies have demonstrated the
carcinogenicity of aflatoxins in rodents, primates, and
fish.
• Hepatocellular carcinoma has been seen in numerous
species indicating that the liver is an important target
organ. Nevertheless, tumors in the colon and kidney are
also induced in some species.

6. A L C O H O L I C
B E V E R A G E S
• Alcoholic beverages of all types (fermented and
those further distilled) can cause cancer in humans.
Animal studies have not convincingly demonstrated
that ethanol itself is carcinogenic leading to the
hypothesis that other contaminants in alcoholic
beverages or ethanol metabolites are responsible
for these effects.
• The solvent action of ethanol may be relevant for
co-carcinogens either in the beverages or in other
dietary components

7. 2 , 3 , 7 , 8 - T E T R A C H O L O R D I B E N Z O - P -
D I O X I N ( T C D D )
• 2,3,7,8-Tetracholordibenzo-p-dioxin serves
as the prototype because of its high potency,
high Ahr binding affinity, and because it is
more resistant to either environmental or
biological degradation than most of the other
agents in this class.
• Associations with cancer in human studies
have focused on highly exposed subjects in
occupational settings. Associations with total
cancer, lung cancer, and non-Hodgkin's
lymphoma have been noted

8. S A LT E D F I S H
Salted fish are produced in several
parts of Asia using a method that
appears to result in the production
of carcinogenic by products.
Several potential carcinogens
have been identified including N-
nitrosodimethylamine, other N-
nitroso compounds.

9. A C E TA L D E H Y D E
• Acetaldehyde has been demonstrated to cause cancer in
animals, mainly in the upper respiratory tract.
• The evidence of human carcinogenicity is more indirect
and has generally been linked to heavy alcohol
consumption.

10. P O LY C Y C L I C A R O M AT I C
H Y D R O C A R B O N S
• Food is contaminated with PAHs during smoking,
barbequing, grilling, and is also present at low
concentrations in oils, coffee, sausages, etc. In areas of
the world that cook their food using coal, the uncooked
food can be contaminated from the cooking smoke

11. N - N I T R O S O D I M E T H Y L A M I N E A N D
S O M E O T H E R N I T R O S A M I N E S
• About 25% of dietary nitrate is recycled
to the salivary glands. Oral and gut
bacteria can reduce dietary nitrate to
nitrite and this nitrite can react with
amines to form nitrosamines
spontaneously.
• N-Nitrosodimethylamine produces
tumors in experimental animals through
many different exposure routes.

12. H O T M AT É
• The carcinogenicity of maté has not been studied in animals but
multiple case-control studies have demonstrated an association
between hot maté and oral, oropharyngeal, head and neck, and
esophageal cancer.
• Most studies have found a dose dependent increase in cancer
risk with increased consumption of maté.
• Furthermore, the typical temperature of consumption may also
effect the association with subjects reporting the highest
temperature at the greatest increased risk in some studies.

13. O T H E R C A R C I N O G E N I C F O O D
C O N TA M I N A N T S
• Toxins from Fusarium moniliforme, Fumonisins, Fumonsin
B1
• Ochratoxin A
• Coffee
• Pickled vegetables
• Acrylamide

14. R E F E R E N C E S
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15. T H A N K Y O U !