New research sheds light on some surprising risk factors, which suggest that Cantonese fish (salted fish) could play a role in cancer development.
The World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF), affiliated with the Health Authority, said Cantonese salted fish increases the risk of nasopharyngeal cancer.
The fund highlighted that oropharyngeal cancer is a rare type of cancer that affects the part of the body that connects the throat from the nose to the mouth (pharynx).
The World Cancer Research Fund attributes this effect to nitrosamines, a compound found in salted fish.
The health authority reports: “High levels of one of the nitrosamines, N-nitrosodimethylamine, found in some Cantonese salted fish samples, have been shown to stimulate cancer development in experimental animal models.
