Advanced Glycation End Products (AGEs) Increase Risk of Pancreatic Cancer

by | Apr 11, 2016 | 2015, Cancer, Fats and Oils - General, Other Cancers

Written by Joyce Smith, BS. Study results suggests a low-AGE diet may be a cost-effective way to support healthy aging and help lower the risk of pancreatic cancer.

The NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study is a large prospective study of AARP members that was conducted between 1995 and 2006.

The starting point of this study was a self-administered health questionnaire that was sent out to 3.5 million AARP members 50-71 years old. The baseline questionnaire was satisfactorily completed by 567,119 members. A second questionnaire (AARP FFQ) that included a meat-cooking module was sent out 6 months later. This questionnaire queried the various kinds of meats that were eaten, what cooking methods were used and what degree of browning was achieved. Meat mutagens were evaluated from this meat-cooking module.

Specific AGE values from a published database of 549 commonly consumed foods in North America 1 2 were linked to the AARP FFQ. After eliminating disqualified participants, the final number of participants was 528,251. Those in the sub-cohort who completed the meat questionnaire totaled 316,656. Over the 10.5 year follow-up, 1407 men and 786 women were diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

Analysis of the questionnaire responses yielded the following data:

  • Fats, oils, nuts, seeds and meats were the highest contributors to AGEs, while fruit contributed minimally.
  • Both men and women who consumed the highest AGEs had less education, less physical activity, and consumed less alcohol, carbohydrate, fructose and calcium. However, they had more energy and consumed more fat, protein, saturated fat and red meat. They were also more likely to be obese, diabetic, smokers and have renal disease.
  • There was a convincing association between AGEs consumption and pancreatic cancer for men (P – trend=0.003), but not for women. (P-trend = 0.42)
  • There was also a clear association between AGEs and BMI (body mass index) in both men and women (P<0.05). BMI is used to measure body weight and obesity.

Since AGEs are a risk factor for pancreatic cancer and contribute to obesity, researchers suggest boiling, stewing, and steaming foods as well as shorter cooking times to reduce the formation of AGEs in foods, especially meats. 1 Synthetic compounds such as metformin as well as natural products can also help prevent the formation of AGEs. 3 4

There were limitations to this study. Researchers did not evaluate the cooking methods for all the different foods that were eaten by the study participants. In future studies, cooking methods for all foods consumed by the participating subjects should be documented. If the results of this study are validated, a low-AGE diet may be a cost-effective way to support healthy aging and help lower the risk of pancreatic cancer.

Source:  Jiao, Li, et al. “Dietary consumption of advanced glycation end products and pancreatic cancer in the prospective NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study.” The American journal of clinical nutrition 101.1 (2015): 126-134.

© 2015 American Society for Nutrition

Posted February 11, 2016.

References:

  1. Uribarri J, Woodruff S, Goodman S, et al. Advanced glycation end products in foods and a practical guide to their reduction in the diet. Journal of the American Dietetic Association. 2010;110(6):911-916. e912.
  2. Goldberg T, Cai W, Peppa M, et al. Advanced glycoxidation end products in commonly consumed foods. Journal of the American Dietetic Association. 2004;104(8):1287-1291.
  3. Peng X, Ma J, Chen F, Wang M. Naturally occurring inhibitors against the formation of advanced glycation end-products. Food & function. 2011;2(6):289-301.
  4. Desai K, Wu L. Methylglyoxal and advanced glycation endproducts: new therapeutic horizons? Recent patents on cardiovascular drug discovery. 2007;2(2):89-99.