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. 2021 Sep 8;13(9):3132.
doi: 10.3390/nu13093132.

Dietary Advanced Glycation End-Products and Colorectal Cancer Risk in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) Study

Elom K Aglago  1 , Ana-Lucia Mayén  1 , Viktoria Knaze  2 , Heinz Freisling  1 , Veronika Fedirko  3 , David J Hughes  4 , Li Jiao  5 , Anne Kirstine Eriksen  6 , Anne Tjønneland  6 , Marie-Christine Boutron-Ruault  7   8 , Joseph A Rothwell  7   8 , Gianluca Severi  7   8   9 , Rudolf Kaaks  10 , Verena Katzke  10 , Matthias B Schulze  11   12 , Anna Birukov  11 , Domenico Palli  13 , Sabina Sieri  14 , Maria Santucci de Magistris  15 , Rosario Tumino  16 , Fulvio Ricceri  17   18 , Bas Bueno-de-Mesquita  19 , Jeroen W G Derksen  20 , Guri Skeie  21 , Inger Torhild Gram  21 , Torkjel Sandanger  21 , J Ramón Quirós  22 , Leila Luján-Barroso  23 , Maria-Jose Sánchez  24   25   26   27 , Pilar Amiano  24   28 , María-Dolores Chirlaque  24   29 , Aurelio Barricarte Gurrea  24   30   31 , Ingegerd Johansson  32 , Jonas Manjer  33   34 , Aurora Perez-Cornago  35 , Elisabete Weiderpass  36 , Marc J Gunter  1 , Alicia K Heath  37 , Casper G Schalkwijk  38 , Mazda Jenab  1
Affiliations

Dietary Advanced Glycation End-Products and Colorectal Cancer Risk in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) Study

Elom K Aglago et al. Nutrients. .

Abstract

Dietary advanced glycation end-products (dAGEs) have been hypothesized to be associated with a higher risk of colorectal cancer (CRC) by promoting inflammation, metabolic dysfunction, and oxidative stress in the colonic epithelium. However, evidence from prospective cohort studies is scarce and inconclusive. We evaluated CRC risk associated with the intake of dAGEs in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study. Dietary intakes of three major dAGEs: Nε-carboxy-methyllysine (CML), Nε-carboxyethyllysine (CEL), and Nδ-(5-hydro-5-methyl-4-imidazolon-2-yl)-ornithine (MG-H1) were estimated in 450,111 participants (median follow-up = 13 years, with 6162 CRC cases) by matching to a detailed published European food composition database. Hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the associations of dAGEs with CRC were computed using multivariable-adjusted Cox regression models. Inverse CRC risk associations were observed for CML (HR comparing extreme quintiles: HRQ5vs.Q1 = 0.92, 95% CI = 0.85-1.00) and MG-H1 (HRQ5vs.Q1 = 0.92, 95% CI = 0.85-1.00), but not for CEL (HRQ5vs.Q1 = 0.97, 95% CI = 0.89-1.05). The associations did not differ by sex or anatomical location of the tumor. Contrary to the initial hypothesis, our findings suggest an inverse association between dAGEs and CRC risk. More research is required to verify these findings and better differentiate the role of dAGEs from that of endogenously produced AGEs and their precursor compounds in CRC development.

Keywords: advanced glycation end-products; colorectal cancer; dietary exposure; dietary glycation compounds.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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