Diets High in Animal Fat May Impact Breast Cancer Risk

[Guest guest]

Diets High in Animal Fat May Impact Breast Cancer Risk

Boston

http://www.hms.harvard.edu/news/pressreleases/bwh/0703animalfatsbreas

tcancer.html

 

Harvard Medical School affiliate Brigham and Women's Hospital - For

years data on the relationship between dietary fat and breast cancer

have left scientists and the public puzzled, but the latest study

from Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) provides more compelling

evidence for young women to replace their intake of animal fats with

vegetable fats. In contrast to earlier work in this area, the

researchers looked specifically at the diets of women during their

premenopausal years. The study, published in the July 16 issue of

the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, found that diets high

in animal fats - not vegetable fats - may influence a woman's risk

of breast cancer.

 

" Overall, we observed that there was a higher risk of breast cancer

among women who ate foods rich in animal fat such as red meat,

cheese, ice-cream and butter during their 20s, 30s and 40s, " said

Eunyoung Cho, ScD, BWH researcher.

 

In the past, several international comparisons have suggested that

the Western diet, higher in animal fat, may be associated with

higher rates of breast cancer. However, the most current literature

disputes this claim. A recent pooled analysis, combining data from

13 different studies, found no apparent link. Dr. Cho said her

investigation may point to a possible explanation for the

discrepancies: the age at which women are consuming foods high in

animal fats.

 

" Considering the causes of this disease vary depending on menopausal

status, the relation between dietary fat intake and breast cancer

risk may be different in younger women, a group that hasn't been

studied previously, " noted Cho.

 

According to the World Health Organization, more than 1.2 million

people will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year. It is the

second leading cause of cancer deaths in women today.

 

Among the 90,655 women who were studied - ages 26 to 46 when

enrolled - the researchers documented and confirmed 714 cases of

invasive breast cancer over eight years. When comparing women who

consumed the greatest levels of fat to those women in the lowest fat

intake category, the research team found that diets highest in

animal fats were associated with a 33 percent greater risk of breast

cancer. The correlation was strongest for red meat and high-fat

dairy foods. They documented no strong association between total fat

intake, polyunsaturated fats and vegetable fat and the risk of

breast cancer.

 

" In an area of breast cancer research that has yielded often starkly

different findings, we have illustrated that there may be stronger

support for lowering overall animal fat intake, especially during a

woman's early adult life, " said Cho, also of Harvard Medical

School. " We have long known that replacing animal fats with non-

hydrogenated vegetable oils will reduce risk of heart disease. Now,

more women may be more encouraged to adopt a healthy diet earlier to

prevent breast cancer. "