By Jimmy Downs

Sunday April 7, 2013 (foodconsumer.org) -- A new study published in the Prostate suggests that eating deep-fried foods may increase the risk of prostate cancer, which is diagnosed in more than 230,000 men each year in the United States and kills about 17,000 annually in the country.

Marni Stott-Miller from Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, Washington and colleagues found eating French fries, fried chicken and fried fish and doughnuts was associated with increased risk of prostate cancer.

Specifically, men eating one serving per week or more of French fries, fried chicken, fried fish and doughnuts were 37%, 30%, 32% and 35% more likely to be diagnosed with prostate cancer, respectively, compared with men eating less than one serving per week.

In the study of 1,549 cases of prostate cancer and 1,492 controls who did not have the disease, the researchers also found that the association was stronger for more aggressive prostate cancer.  For instance, eating fried fish more frequently was associated with 41% increased risk of aggressive disease.

The researchers concluded "Regular consumption of select deep-fried foods is associated with increased PCa (prostate cancer) risk. Whether this risk is specific to deep-fried foods, or whether it represents risk associated with regular intake of foods exposed to high heat and/or other aspects of the Western lifestyle, such as fast food consumption, remains to be determined."

Fried foods can carry many types of carcinogens including aldehydes, acrolein, heterocyclic amines, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and acrylamide, according to the study report.