Breast cancer, what a scary thought! As a young woman, this is one of my greatest fears. Will I get breast cancer as I age or will I be one of the lucky ones? Statistics show that one out of nine American women will develop breast cancer; it is the second most common form of cancer among women in the United States and the second leading cause of death among women. Scientists have found many risk factors related to breast cancer, but the cause of at least two-thirds of all cases is still not clear. Some risk factors are uncontrollable, including age, inherited genetic mutations, menstrual and pregnancy history, family history, and previous breast disease. That which is controllable includes hormone replacement therapy (HRT), alcohol consumption, obesity, and diet.

Many doctors have theorized that eating increased amounts of fat heightens the risk for breast cancer. Their reasons are based on animal studies, international comparisons and studies of women who developed breast cancer and women who didn't. Other studies have suggested that specific types of fat and fatty acids aid in the development or deterrence of breast cancer. Even still, others have suggested that increased amounts of fat actually cause a depletion of an essential agent that is normally protective against breast cancer. However, the two most prevalent studies that were released last year came to very different conclusions.

Dr. Anna H. Wu and her colleagues from the University of Southern California Medical School in Los Angeles conducted an analysis of 13 studies related to fat intake and breast cancer. The combined results of the thirteen studies revealed that decreasing fat consumption to below 20% of calories reduces the cancer risk. The reasoning behind this is restricting fat in the diet will decrease the amount of estrogen (estradiol) in the blood, and estrogen exposure has been linked to breast cancer.

In May 1999, Dr. Michelle D. Holmes and her associates at Harvard Medical School in Boston released their findings of breast cancer from the Nurses' Health Study, which began in 1980. 88,795 cancer free women were studied for the relationship between dietary fat and breast cancer. Throughout the length of this study 2,956 women were diagnosed with cancer. Dr. Holmes compared their diets to those women without breast cancer. By 1994 (14 years later), the study was completed. "We found no evidence that lower intake of total fat or particular types of fat over 14 years of follow-up was associated with a decreased risk of breast cancer. It's highly unlikely that women who consume a low-fat diet are protected against breast cancer." What's significant about this study is the conflicting results with Dr. Wu's study. Dr. Holmes found that women who ate less than 20% of calories as fat appeared to have a 15% higher rate of breast cancer, not lower as Dr. Wu professes. Because the sampling was so few (< I,000), Dr. Holmes is not ready to confirm that a low-fat diet actually increases breast cancer risk.

So what does this mean for women? Which study should be followed? What risk is there by not following either? Future studies are planned to help clarify if there is a significant role between fat intake and breast cancer risk. Although it may be some time before more results and discoveries are found, some scientists do believe that eating a well balanced, low-fat diet with plenty of fruits and vegetables, exercise, and maintaining an ideal weight may lower a woman's risk. It's your health were talking about, more specifically your life. Without taking care of yourself today, who knows what the future will bring? Remember, you have one in nine chances of being lucky.

For more information on breast cancer, visit these sites:

A Dietitian's Cancer Story

CancerNet

Copyright© 1999-2006 Kevin Kelly, LRD. All rights reserved. Unauthorized use prohibited.

Return to Articles