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# Low fat diet cuts breast cancer risk
- URL: https://www.foodconsumer.org/low_fat_diet_cuts_breast_cancer_risk_1208120324/
- Published: 2012-12-08T16:24:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-22T15:59:32.000Z
- Description: Mice bred to develop mammary tumors and fed a fatty-acid-free diet developed breast cancer less often, later and in smaller numbers than mice on a standard diet, though tumor growth rate was unchanged. The work was done in mice, not people.
- Author: Food Consumer
- Tags: Diet, Nutrition, #vivvo-import

By David Liu PHD

Saturday Dec 8, 2012 (foodconsumer.org) -- A fatty diet can increase risk of breast cancer or a low fat diet may reduce the risk, according to a new study in Journal of Cellular Physiology. This is a suggestion only because the study was done in mice.

The study led by A. Rossini of Dipartimento di Scienze Biomediche per la Salute, Università degli Studi di Milano in Italy and colleagues shows that mice on a diet free fatty acids reduced the risk of breast cancer, slowed the development of the tumors, and had fewer tumors if ever developed, compared to those on a standard diet.

For the study, researchers tested a fatty acid free diet and a standard diet in mice that were prone to developing spontaneous multifocal mammary tumors after a long latency. Study mice started using a diet free of fatty acids at 112, 35 and 30 days of age.

In all experiments, the fatty acid free diet reduced the incidence of breast cancer in the study mice. And study mice on the fatty acid free diet developed tumors more slowly or had a longer latency or had fewer tumors if they were ever developed, compared with those eating a standard diet.

But the fatty acid-free diet did not affect the tumor growth rate.

Mice on the fatty acid free diet were found to produce more oleic, palmitoleic and 20:3ω9 acids and less linoleic and palmitic acids.

The researchers concluded "a reduction in dietary FAs (fatty acids) in humans may have a protective effect on tumorigenesis but not on tumors once they appear."

The study findings suggest that eating a low fat diet can reduce risk of breast cancer.

Those who simply couldn't quit their high fat diets may use dietary phytosterol supplements offset some cancer promoting effect of the high fat diet.

G. Llaverias from Llaverias from Institut d'Investigació Biomèdica (IIB) in Sant Pau, Barcelona, Spain and colleagues published a study in Journal of Nutrition and Biochemistry suggesting phytosterols may help prevent breast cancer by inhibiting tumor growth and lipid peroxidation induced by a high fat diet.

The study again was conducted in mice, but with inherited breast cancer.

The researchers found "Both the development of mammary hyperplastic lesions (at age 4 weeks) and total tumor burden (at age 13 weeks) were reduced after dietary phytosterol supplementation in female mice fed a high-fat, high-cholesterol diet."