Review of Lymphatic and Hematopoietic Cancer Incidence Trends & Consumption of Aspartame

Available data from the National Cancer Institute’s Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) program were used to examine trends for Hodgkin's lymphoma, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL), and leukemia from 1973 through 2002 in comparison to trends of aspartame consumption in order to assess whether an association between aspartame consumption and lymphomas and leukemias exists in the U.S. population.

Researchers concluded that examinations of these cancer trends by gender or age group found no consistent pattern that paralleled the rise in aspartame consumption. Trends in the cancer incidence rates were not consistent with the proposed hypothesis suggesting a relationship between aspartame and lymphomas and leukemias.

Since 1991, which allows for a ten-year latency, the combined lymphomas and leukemias incidence trend has remained constant and does not suggest that cancer incidence trends are related to aspartame consumption.

*Overall, incidence rates for Hodgkin’s lymphoma decreased slightly and leukemia rates remained largely unchanged between 1973 and 2002. The incidence of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in the U.S. increased over the period 1973-1990, but has remained relatively unchanged since 1990, approximately ten years after aspartame was introduced in foods and beverages. The increase in non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in the 1970s and 1980s (before the introduction of aspartame) has been reviewed by a number of researchers. From these reviews several reasons have been hypothesized for explaining the rise in non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma such as the increase in HIV infection and improvements in diagnostic procedures (American Cancer Society, 2005).

Source: Health Sciences Practice, Exponent, Inc.

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