foodconsumer.org: Fruit and Vegetables:  Do They Reduce Breast Cancer Risk or Not?

Fruit and Vegetables:  Do They Reduce Breast Cancer Risk or Not?
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admin on 12/31/2009 11:53:00
 
By David Liu and editing by Rachel Stockton   A new study suggests that
lipophilic antioxidants in fruit and vegetables may not help prevent breast
cancer, at least in postmenopausal women.   The study, led by Maillard V and
colleagues from Institut Gustave-Roussy in France, found no significant
association between breast cancer risk and carotenoids, tocopherols and retinol
in the blood of study subjects.   The researchers followed 19,934 women for an
average of 7 years and identified 366 cases of incident invasive breast cancer,
including 84 premenopausal women and 282 postmenopausal women.   For the study,
the participants completed a dietary questionnaire and had their blood samples
analyzed at baseline.   Those with serum carotenoids, tocopherols and retinol in
the highest quintile were 26 percent, 32 percent and 15 percent, respectively,
less likely to have breast cancer compared to those with the lowest quintile.  
But the researchers said the associations were not significant.   The study is
not a trial. The findings do not suggest that eating fruit and vegetables do not
reduce risk of breast cancer.   Another study led by researchers of Chinese
University of Hong Kong found an inverse association between vitamin A,
carotene, vitamin C, vitamin E, and fiber intake and risk of breast cancer among
Chinese women residing in Guangdong province in China.   For the study, Zhang CX
and colleagues conducted a case-control study of 438 study subjects and 438 age-
and residence-matched controls. Dietary information was collected through
face-to-face interviews.   After adjusting cofounders, those with their
consumption of fruit and vegetables in the highest quartile were 72 percent less
likely to be diagnosed with breast cancer, compared to those with their intake
of fruit and vegetables in the lowest quartile.   Among individual vegetables
and fruit groups, dark green leafy vegetables, cruciferous vegetables, carrots
and tomatoes, banana, watermelon/papaya/cantaloupe were all inversely associated
with breast cancer risk.