foodconsumer.org: Dietary fiber cuts  breast cancer risk in older women

Dietary fiber cuts  breast cancer risk in older women
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admin on 09/07/2009 14:28:00
 
High intake of dietary fiber may help prevent breast cancer in postmenopausal
women, a new study published in the Sept 2009 issue of the American Journal of
Clinical Nutrition suggests.
The study led by Y Park and colleagues from the National Cancer Institute showed
that women who had highest intakes of dietary fiber were 13 percent less likely
to have breast cancer.
Evidence suggests that dietary fiber may lower risk of breast cancer by
modulating estrogen metabolism.  But the association between dietary fiber
intake and risk of breast cancer by hormone receptor status remains unclear, the
researchers said in their study report.
The study was meant to examine the relation of dietary fiber intake to breast
cancer in postmenopausal women with different hormone receptor statuses.
For the study, Park and colleagues examined data on dietary intakes collected
through a food-frequency questionnaire from 185,598 postmenopausal women at an
average of 62 years who participated in the National Institutes of Health-AARP
Diet and Health Study.
During the 7-year follow-up, 5461 breast cancer cases were recorded of which
3341 cases were positive for estrogen receptor (RE-positive) and progesterone
receptor (PR).
The researchers found dietary fiber intake was inversely correlated with breast
cancer risk.  Those whose fiber intake was in the highest quintile were 13
percent less likely to have breast cancer compared to those with their intakes
in the lowest quintile.
The inverse association was even more significant for ER(-)/PR (-) tumors. Those
with highest intakes of dietary fiber were 44 percent less likely to acquire
this type of tumor compared to ER+/PR+ tumors.
For the RR (Q5vsQ1) of lobular tumors, highest intakes of dietary fiber reduced
the risk by 34 percent and for the RR (Q5vsQ1) of ductal tumors, highest fiber
intakes cut the risk by 10 percent.
However, when considering the sources of fiber, the researchers found no
association between fiber from grains, fruit, vegetables, and beans and breast
cancer risk.
Park and colleagues conclude "Our findings suggest that dietary fiber can play a
role in preventing breast cancer through nonestrogen pathways among
postmenopausal women."
By David Liu - daidl at foodconsumer dot org