Foods with high acid load may promote pancreatic cancer

Individuals with diets high in acidogenic foods are at heightened risk of developing pancreatic cancer, as suggested in a study.

Modern Western diets are typically loaded with acid-forming foods. Human and in vitro studies have shown a potential link between dietary acid load and cancer risk.

The present population-based cohort comprised 95,708 American adults. Dietary acid load was assessed using potential renal acid load (PRAL) and net endogenous acid production (NEAP); the greater the value, the higher the dietary acid load.

A total of 337 pancreatic cancer cases occurred over 848,534.0 person-years of follow-up. Fully adjusted Cox regression models revealed that PRAL score had a positive association with the risk of pancreatic cancer. Compared with lowest quartile, the highest PRAL score quartile contributed to a 73-percent risk increase (hazard ratio, 1.73, 95 percent confidence interval, 1.21–2.48; p_trend=0.001), with a nonlinear dose-response pattern (p_nonlinearity=0.012).

In a subgroup analysis, the positive association between PRAL score and the risk of pancreatic cancer was stronger among younger than older participants (age <65 vs ≥65 years: p_interaction=0.018). Similar results were seen for the NEAP score.

The present epidemiologic study is said to be the first of its kind, and the findings point to the possibility that lowering dietary acid load may play an important role in the prevention of pancreatic cancer. Nevertheless, additional studies in other populations and settings are needed to validate the data.