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Sellem L, Srour B, Javaux G, Chazelas E, Chassaing B, Viennois E, Debras C, Druesne-Pecollo N, Esseddik Y, Szabo de Edelenyi F, Arnault N, Agaësse C, De Sa A, Lutchia R, Huybrechts I, Scalbert A, Pierre F, Coumoul X, Julia C, Kesse-Guyot E, Allès B, Galan P, Hercberg S, Deschasaux-Tanguy M, Touvier M. Food additive emulsifiers and cancer risk: Results from the French prospective NutriNet-Santé cohort. PLoS Med 2024; 21:e1004338. [PMID: 38349899 PMCID: PMC10863884 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1004338] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2023] [Accepted: 12/20/2023] [Indexed: 02/15/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Emulsifiers are widely used food additives in industrially processed foods to improve texture and enhance shelf-life. Experimental research suggests deleterious effects of emulsifiers on the intestinal microbiota and the metabolome, leading to chronic inflammation and increasing susceptibility to carcinogenesis. However, human epidemiological evidence investigating their association with cancer is nonexistent. This study aimed to assess associations between food additive emulsifiers and cancer risk in a large population-based prospective cohort. METHODS AND FINDINGS This study included 92,000 adults of the French NutriNet-Santé cohort without prevalent cancer at enrolment (44.5 y [SD: 14.5], 78.8% female, 2009 to 2021). They were followed for an average of 6.7 years [SD: 2.2]. Food additive emulsifier intakes were estimated for participants who provided at least 3 repeated 24-h dietary records linked to comprehensive, brand-specific food composition databases on food additives. Multivariable Cox regressions were conducted to estimate associations between emulsifiers and cancer incidence. Overall, 2,604 incident cancer cases were diagnosed during follow-up (including 750 breast, 322 prostate, and 207 colorectal cancers). Higher intakes of mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids (FAs) (E471) were associated with higher risks of overall cancer (HR high vs. low category = 1.15; 95% CI [1.04, 1.27], p-trend = 0.01), breast cancer (HR = 1.24; 95% CI [1.03, 1.51], p-trend = 0.04), and prostate cancer (HR = 1.46; 95% CI [1.09, 1.97], p-trend = 0.02). In addition, associations with breast cancer risk were observed for higher intakes of total carrageenans (E407 and E407a) (HR = 1.32; 95% CI [1.09, 1.60], p-trend = 0.009) and carrageenan (E407) (HR = 1.28; 95% CI [1.06, 1.56], p-trend = 0.01). No association was detected between any of the emulsifiers and colorectal cancer risk. Several associations with other emulsifiers were observed but were not robust throughout sensitivity analyses. Main limitations include possible exposure measurement errors in emulsifiers intake and potential residual confounding linked to the observational design. CONCLUSIONS In this large prospective cohort, we observed associations between higher intakes of carrageenans and mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids with overall, breast and prostate cancer risk. These results need replication in other populations. They provide new epidemiological evidence on the role of emulsifiers in cancer risk. TRIAL REGISTRATION ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03335644.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laury Sellem
- Université Sorbonne Paris Nord and Université Paris Cité, INSERM, INRAE, CNAM, Center of Research in Epidemiology and StatisticS (CRESS), Nutritional Epidemiology Research Team (EREN), Bobigny, France
- Nutrition And Cancer Research Network (NACRe Network), Jouy-en-Josas, France
| | - Bernard Srour
- Université Sorbonne Paris Nord and Université Paris Cité, INSERM, INRAE, CNAM, Center of Research in Epidemiology and StatisticS (CRESS), Nutritional Epidemiology Research Team (EREN), Bobigny, France
- Nutrition And Cancer Research Network (NACRe Network), Jouy-en-Josas, France
| | - Guillaume Javaux
- Université Sorbonne Paris Nord and Université Paris Cité, INSERM, INRAE, CNAM, Center of Research in Epidemiology and StatisticS (CRESS), Nutritional Epidemiology Research Team (EREN), Bobigny, France
| | - Eloi Chazelas
- Université Sorbonne Paris Nord and Université Paris Cité, INSERM, INRAE, CNAM, Center of Research in Epidemiology and StatisticS (CRESS), Nutritional Epidemiology Research Team (EREN), Bobigny, France
- Nutrition And Cancer Research Network (NACRe Network), Jouy-en-Josas, France
| | - Benoit Chassaing
- Nutrition And Cancer Research Network (NACRe Network), Jouy-en-Josas, France
- INSERM U1016, team “Mucosal microbiota in chronic inflammatory diseases”, CNRS UMR 8104, Université Paris Cité, Paris, France
| | - Emilie Viennois
- INSERM U1149, Center of Research on Inflammation, Université Paris Cité, Paris, France
| | - Charlotte Debras
- Université Sorbonne Paris Nord and Université Paris Cité, INSERM, INRAE, CNAM, Center of Research in Epidemiology and StatisticS (CRESS), Nutritional Epidemiology Research Team (EREN), Bobigny, France
- Nutrition And Cancer Research Network (NACRe Network), Jouy-en-Josas, France
| | - Nathalie Druesne-Pecollo
- Université Sorbonne Paris Nord and Université Paris Cité, INSERM, INRAE, CNAM, Center of Research in Epidemiology and StatisticS (CRESS), Nutritional Epidemiology Research Team (EREN), Bobigny, France
- Nutrition And Cancer Research Network (NACRe Network), Jouy-en-Josas, France
| | - Younes Esseddik
- Université Sorbonne Paris Nord and Université Paris Cité, INSERM, INRAE, CNAM, Center of Research in Epidemiology and StatisticS (CRESS), Nutritional Epidemiology Research Team (EREN), Bobigny, France
| | - Fabien Szabo de Edelenyi
- Université Sorbonne Paris Nord and Université Paris Cité, INSERM, INRAE, CNAM, Center of Research in Epidemiology and StatisticS (CRESS), Nutritional Epidemiology Research Team (EREN), Bobigny, France
| | - Nathalie Arnault
- Université Sorbonne Paris Nord and Université Paris Cité, INSERM, INRAE, CNAM, Center of Research in Epidemiology and StatisticS (CRESS), Nutritional Epidemiology Research Team (EREN), Bobigny, France
| | - Cédric Agaësse
- Université Sorbonne Paris Nord and Université Paris Cité, INSERM, INRAE, CNAM, Center of Research in Epidemiology and StatisticS (CRESS), Nutritional Epidemiology Research Team (EREN), Bobigny, France
| | - Alexandre De Sa
- Université Sorbonne Paris Nord and Université Paris Cité, INSERM, INRAE, CNAM, Center of Research in Epidemiology and StatisticS (CRESS), Nutritional Epidemiology Research Team (EREN), Bobigny, France
| | - Rebecca Lutchia
- Université Sorbonne Paris Nord and Université Paris Cité, INSERM, INRAE, CNAM, Center of Research in Epidemiology and StatisticS (CRESS), Nutritional Epidemiology Research Team (EREN), Bobigny, France
| | - Inge Huybrechts
- International Agency for Research on Cancer, World Health Organization, Lyon, France
| | - Augustin Scalbert
- International Agency for Research on Cancer, World Health Organization, Lyon, France
| | - Fabrice Pierre
- Nutrition And Cancer Research Network (NACRe Network), Jouy-en-Josas, France
- Toxalim (Research Centre in Food Toxicology), Université de Toulouse, INRAE, ENVT, INP-Purpan, UPS, Toulouse, France
| | - Xavier Coumoul
- Nutrition And Cancer Research Network (NACRe Network), Jouy-en-Josas, France
- INSERM UMR-S 1124, Université Paris Cité, Paris, France
| | - Chantal Julia
- Université Sorbonne Paris Nord and Université Paris Cité, INSERM, INRAE, CNAM, Center of Research in Epidemiology and StatisticS (CRESS), Nutritional Epidemiology Research Team (EREN), Bobigny, France
- Public Health Department, Groupe Hospitalier Paris-Seine-Saint-Denis, Assistance Publique-hôpitaux de Paris (AP-HP), Bobigny, France
| | - Emmanuelle Kesse-Guyot
- Université Sorbonne Paris Nord and Université Paris Cité, INSERM, INRAE, CNAM, Center of Research in Epidemiology and StatisticS (CRESS), Nutritional Epidemiology Research Team (EREN), Bobigny, France
- Nutrition And Cancer Research Network (NACRe Network), Jouy-en-Josas, France
| | - Benjamin Allès
- Université Sorbonne Paris Nord and Université Paris Cité, INSERM, INRAE, CNAM, Center of Research in Epidemiology and StatisticS (CRESS), Nutritional Epidemiology Research Team (EREN), Bobigny, France
| | - Pilar Galan
- Université Sorbonne Paris Nord and Université Paris Cité, INSERM, INRAE, CNAM, Center of Research in Epidemiology and StatisticS (CRESS), Nutritional Epidemiology Research Team (EREN), Bobigny, France
- Nutrition And Cancer Research Network (NACRe Network), Jouy-en-Josas, France
| | - Serge Hercberg
- Université Sorbonne Paris Nord and Université Paris Cité, INSERM, INRAE, CNAM, Center of Research in Epidemiology and StatisticS (CRESS), Nutritional Epidemiology Research Team (EREN), Bobigny, France
- Nutrition And Cancer Research Network (NACRe Network), Jouy-en-Josas, France
- Public Health Department, Groupe Hospitalier Paris-Seine-Saint-Denis, Assistance Publique-hôpitaux de Paris (AP-HP), Bobigny, France
| | - Mélanie Deschasaux-Tanguy
- Université Sorbonne Paris Nord and Université Paris Cité, INSERM, INRAE, CNAM, Center of Research in Epidemiology and StatisticS (CRESS), Nutritional Epidemiology Research Team (EREN), Bobigny, France
- Nutrition And Cancer Research Network (NACRe Network), Jouy-en-Josas, France
| | - Mathilde Touvier
- Université Sorbonne Paris Nord and Université Paris Cité, INSERM, INRAE, CNAM, Center of Research in Epidemiology and StatisticS (CRESS), Nutritional Epidemiology Research Team (EREN), Bobigny, France
- Nutrition And Cancer Research Network (NACRe Network), Jouy-en-Josas, France
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