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Western diet pattern may raise breast cancer risk

By Stephen Daniells, 10-Jul-2007

Related topics: Carbohydrates and fibers (sugar, starches), Cereals and bakery preparations, Meat, fish and savory ingredients, Science

Asian women eating a Western-style diet, rich in red meat, starches and sweets, may raise the risk of breast cancer, according to new research from China.

Results from the Shanghai Breast Cancer Study, published in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, are yet another black mark against a Western-style diet, previously linked to an increased risk of colorectal cancer and childhood obesity.

 

 

 

"The Shanghai data gave us a unique look at a population of Chinese women who were beginning to adopt more western-style eating habits," said co-researcher Marilyn Tseng, from the Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia.

 

 

 

"We found an association between a western-style diet and breast cancer was pronounced in postmenopausal women, especially heavier women with oestrogen receptor-positive tumours," she added.

 

 

 

Over one million women worldwide are diagnosed with breast cancer every year, with the highest incidences in the US and the Netherlands. The National Cancer Institute estimates that 13 percent of American women will develop breast cancer during their lives.

 

 

 

The incidence of hormone receptor-positive breast cancer is said to be increasing in the US, particularly among women in the 40 to 69 year old bracket. Hormone receptor-negative breast cancer incidence has not been changing.

 

 

 

Breast cancers marked by the excessive production of oestrogen receptors (ER+ breast cancers) form the majority of breast cancers and are often associated with obesity.

 

 

 

The new study, a collaboration of researchers from Fox Chase, Harvard University, Shanghai Cancer Institute, and Vanderbilt University, compared the dietary habits of 1,459 women with breast cancer and 1,556 matched controls. Women were aged between 25 and 64.

 

 

 

Based on the reported eating habits of the women, the subjects were classified as either "meat-sweet" or "vegetable-soy" eaters. The "meat-sweet" diet is characterised by various meats, primarily pork, poultry, organ meats, beef and lamb, and shrimp, saltwater fish, and shellfish, as well as candy, dessert, bread, and milk. The "vegetable-soy" pattern is associated with various vegetables, soy-based products, and freshwater fish.

 

 

 

Dietary patterns that most closely resembled the "meat-sweet" pattern were significantly associated with increased risk of breast cancer among overweight postmenopausal women, said the researchers.

 

 

 

Specifically, the "meat-sweet" dietary pattern was associated with a greater than twofold increased risk of ER+ breast cancer among these women, while the results showed no overall association of breast cancer risk with the "vegetable-soy" pattern.

 

 

 

"Our study suggests the possibility that the "meat-sweet" pattern interacts with obesity to increase breast cancer risk," said Tseng said.

 

 

 

"Low consumption of a Western dietary pattern plus successful weight control may protect against breast cancer in a traditionally low-risk Asian population that is poised to more broadly adopt foods characteristic of western societies," she added.

 

 

Commenting independently on the research Dr Sarah Cant, senior policy officer at British charity Breakthrough Breast Cancer said: "This small study looking at the diet of women living in Shanghai doesn't rule out other lifestyle factors that may increase the risk of developing breast cancer such as having children at a later age, being overweight, not exercising and taking the Pill or HRT.

 

 

"Overall it is hard to determine the effects of diet on breast cancer risk and we still aren't sure which specific dietary factors influence the chance of developing the disease.

 

 

"Breakthrough Breast Cancer encourages all women to lead a healthy lifestyle by eating a balanced diet, limiting their alcohol consumption, exercising regularly and maintaining a healthy weight."

 

 

The research was funded through grants from the National Institutes of Health, the American Cancer Society, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

 

 

 

Previously, researchers from the University of California, San Francisco labelled the Western-style diet as a toxic environment that doomed children to obesity (Nature Clinical Practice Endocrinology & Metabolism, Vol. 2, pp. 447-458), while a study from France also identified the dietary pattern as a risk factor for colorectal cancer (American Journal of Epidemiology, Vol. 164, pp 1085-1093).

 

 

 

Source: Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention

 

Volume 16, Issue 7

 

Authors: M. Tseng, X. Cui, Y.-T. Gao, Q. Dai, X.-O. Shu, and W. Zheng

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