Intake of butylated hydroxyanisole and butylated hydroxytoluene and stomach cancer risk: Results from analyses in the Netherlands cohort study

Both carcinogenic and anticarcinogenic properties have been reported for th e synthetic antioxidants butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) and butylated hydro xytoluene (BHT). The association between dietary intake of BHA and BHT and stomach cancer risk was investigated in the Netherlands Cohort Study (NLCS) that started in 1986 among 120,852 men and women aged 55 to 69 years. A se mi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire was used to assess food consum ption. Information on BHA or BHT content of cooking fats, oils, mayonnaise and other creamy salad dressings and dried soups was obtained by chemical a nalysis, a Dutch database of food additives (ALBA) and the Dutch Compendium of Foods and Diet Products. After 6.3 years of follow-up, complete data on BHA and BHT intake of 192 incident stomach cancer cases and 2035 subcohort members were available for case-cohort analysis. Mean intake of BHA or BHT among subcohort members was 105 and 351 mu g/day, respectively. For consum ption of mayonnaise and other creamy salad dressings with BHA or BHT no ass ociation with stomach cancer risk was observed. A statistically non-signifi cant decrease in stomach cancer risk was observed with increasing BHA and B HT intake [rate ratio (RR) highest/lowest intake of BHA = 0.57 (95% confide nce interval (CI): 0.25-1.30] and BHT = 0.74 (95% CI: 0.38-1.43). In this s tudy, no significant association with stomach cancer risk was found for usu al intake of low levels of BHA and BHT. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.