A case‐control study of diet and breast cancer in Argentina

Abstract

A case-control study of breast cancer was carried out in La Plata, Argentina, where the incidence of the disease is comparable to the highest rates recorded worldwide. One hundred and fifty incident cases were identified through major hospitals. For each case, a hospital control, matched by age and hospital, and a neighbourhood control, matched by residential area and age, were also chosen. Cases and controls were interviewed to obtain information on past diet, as well as demographic and socio-economic characteristics, reproductive and menstrual history and other potential breast-cancer risk factors. The dietary information was obtained from questions on the consumption of specific food items and information on portion sizes from an earlier study was used to estimate intake of calories and selected nutrients. There was a substantial excess energy intake among cases as compared to both control groups, which was present across all 3 major macronutrients which contribute to total calories. Among the food groups, the consumption of eggs was a risk factor for breast cancer, and whole-milk products and green leafy vegetables were protective. After adjusting for the calorie difference in multivariate statistical analyses of nutrients, fibre and beta-carotene consumption were weakly protective. The results are discussed with reference to possible methodological difficulties and previous studies of diet and breast cancer.

Glycemic index in chronic disease: a review

“…High-GI foods as white bread and crackers are the main starch consumed by the Italian population representing 39% of total starch intake, followed by pasta and rice which together account for 25% . Starch identified as a food group (eg white bread or refined cereal dishes) has also been found to increase risk of breast cancer in most epidemiological studies (Iscovich et al, 1989;Franceschi et al, 1995;Favero et al, 1998), although some have found no association (Toniolo et al, 1989;Rohan et al, 1993) and in one study from the Netherlands an inverse association emerged (van't Veer et al, 1990). However, in this study the cereal products represented also the main source of dietary fiber suggesting these were not refined cereals.…”

“…However, in this study the cereal products represented also the main source of dietary fiber suggesting these were not refined cereals. Associations of sugar intake=confectionery with breast cancer have been reported in at least eight studies; two were direct ( Franceschi et al, 1995;Favero et al, 1998), one inverse after adjustment for macronutrient energy (Zaridze et al, 1991), while the remaining showed no consistent association (Rohan et al, 1988;Iscovich et al, 1989, Ewertz & Gill 1990Ingram et al, 1991;Levi et al, 1993, Franceschi et al, 1996; Table 10). …”

GSTM1 Null Genotype, Red Meat Consumption and Breast Cancer Risk (The Netherlands)

“…However, if meat plays a role in the etiology of breast cancer this could be through the formation of mutagens and/or carcinogens, such as heterocyclic amines (HA), during high temperature cooking of meat [2]. Consumption of well-done meat has been associated with an increased human breast cancer risk in some but not all epidemiological studies [3][4][5][6].…”

Vitamins C and E, retinol, beta-carotene and dietary fibre in relation to breast cancer risk: a prospective cohort study

“…Some case-control studies showed a decrease in breast cancer risk with increased intake of the (pro)vitamins (Katsouyanni et al, 1988;Howe et al, 1990; Graham et al, 1991;Lee et al, 1991;Zaridze et al, 1991) and fibre (Iscovich et al, 1989;Howe et al, 1990;Van 't Veer et al, 1990; Graham et al, 1991;Baghurst and Rohan, 1994), whereas other case-control studies showed the opposite for (pro)vitamins (Toniolo et al, 1989;Ewertz and Gill, 1990;Richardson et al, 1991) and fibre (Katsouyanni et al, 1988;Ingram et al, 1991). Mostly negative non-significant associations between (pro)vitamin intake and the risk of breast cancer have been found in the few prospective cohort studies that have been conducted so far (Paganini-Hill et al, 1987;Graham et al, 1992;Hunter et al, 1993;Rohan et al, 1993).…”