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# Soy foods help prevent breast cancer in BRCA mutation carriers
- URL: https://www.foodconsumer.org/soy_foods_breast_cancer_brca_mutations_1026130922/
- Published: 2013-10-26T10:20:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-22T15:47:02.000Z
- Description: In the Korean Hereditary Breast Cancer Study, women with BRCA mutations in the top quartile of soy intake were 61% less likely to have breast cancer, while those eating the most meat faced 97% more risk, against 41% more for non-carriers.
- Author: Food Consumer
- Tags: Cancer, Avoiding Illness, #vivvo-import

Saturday Oct 26, 2013 (foodconsumer.org) -- Eating meat increases the risk of breast cancer while eating soy or soybean foods like soy milk and tofu can lower the risk in both BRCA mutation carriers and noncarriers, according to a study recently published in American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

K. P. Ko from Gachon University of Medicine and Science in Incheon, Korea and many colleagues from other organizations conducted the study and found high soy consumption linked to 61% reduced risk for breast cancer while meat intake was associated with 97% increased risk for the disease in women with BRCA mutations.

The authors of the study said in their report soy intake is associated with lower risk of breast cancer, but their study may be the first to reveal that high intake of soy and meat have an impact on the risk of familial or genetic breast cancer.

The study based on data from the Korean Hereditary Breast Cancer Study found women with BRCA mutations in the highest quartile of soy intake were 61% less likely to be diagnosed with breast cancer, compared with those in the lowest quartile.

The study also found BRCA carriers in the highest quartile of meat intake were at 97% higher risk for breast cancer, compared with those BRCA carriers in the lowest quartile. In comparison, noncarriers who ate highest amounts of meat were 41% more likely to develop the disease than those eating the lowest amount.

The findings indicate that dietary patterns have more prominent influence on the risk of breast cancer in BRCA carriers than those who do not have the genetic mutations. Specifically, BRCA mutation carriers who eat highest amounts of meat may have to face a much higher risk for breast cancer than noncarriers who eat the same amounts of meat.

Additionally, among breast cancer patients, those who ate the highest amounts of soy foods were 43% less likely to have BRCA related breast cancer, compared with those who ate the lowest amounts.

Soy products reduce the risk of breast cancer because soy contains a great deal of phytoestrogen which is much weaker, compared with the endogenous estrogen produced in humans. The weak phytoestrogen competes with highly active endogenous estrogen for estrogen receptors and reduce the risk of breast cancer that is promoted by estrogen. But it is unclear how soy can help prevent BRCA related breast cancer.

The study concluded "Our study suggests that soy product consumption is associated with lower breast cancer risk and it had an interaction with BRCA mutation."

BRCA mutations can be BRCA1 or BRCA2 or both mutations. Women with these genetic mutations are at high risk for developing breast cancer. Five to ten percent of all breast cancer cases are believed to have something to do with the mutations, which disable an important error-free DNA repair process and place women with the mutations at high risk for the disease.

The study suggests that eating soy may also help women with BRCA mutations to cut their risk for breast cancer almost by half. (DL)