Dietary patterns and relative expression levels of PPAR-γ, VEGF-A and HIF-1α genes in benign breast diseases: case–control and consecutive case-series designs

Abstract

<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title> <jats:p>We aimed to study dietary patterns in association with the relative expression levels of <jats:italic>PPAR-γ</jats:italic>, vascular endothelial growth factor-A (<jats:italic>VEGF-A</jats:italic>) and hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (<jats:italic>HIF-1α</jats:italic>) in women with benign breast disease (BBD). The study design was combinative, included a case-series and case–control compartments. Initially, eligible BBD patients (<jats:italic>n</jats:italic> 77, aged 19–52 years old) were recruited at Nour-Nejat hospital, Tabriz, Iran (2012–2014). A hospital-based group of healthy controls was matched for age (<jats:italic>n</jats:italic> 231, aged 20–63 years old) and sex. Dietary data were collected using a valid 136-item FFQ. Principal component analysis generated two main components (Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin = 0·684), including a Healthy pattern (whole bread, fruits, vegetables, vegetable oils, legumes, spices, seafood, low-fat meat, skinless poultry, low-fat dairy products, nuts and seeds) and a Western pattern (starchy foods, high-fat meat and poultry, high-fat dairy products, hydrogenated fat, fast food, salt and sweets). High adherence to the Western pattern increased the risk of BBD (OR<jats:sub>adj</jats:sub> 5·59; 95 % CI 2·06, 15·10; <jats:italic>P</jats:italic> &lt; 0·01), whereas high intake of the Healthy pattern was associated with a 74 % lower risk of BBD (95 % CI 0·08, 0·81; <jats:italic>P</jats:italic> &lt; 0·05). In the BBD population, the Western pattern was correlated with over-expression of <jats:italic>HIF-1α</jats:italic> (<jats:italic>r</jats:italic><jats:sub>adj</jats:sub> 0·309, <jats:italic>P</jats:italic> &lt; 0·05). There were inverse correlations between the Healthy pattern and expressions of <jats:italic>PPAR-γ</jats:italic> (<jats:italic>r</jats:italic><jats:sub>adj</jats:sub> −0·338, <jats:italic>P</jats:italic> &lt; 0·05), <jats:italic>HIF-1α</jats:italic> (<jats:italic>r</jats:italic><jats:sub>adj</jats:sub> −0·340, <jats:italic>P</jats:italic> &lt; 0·05) and <jats:italic>VEGF-A</jats:italic> (<jats:italic>r</jats:italic><jats:sub>adj</jats:sub> −0·286, <jats:italic>P</jats:italic> &lt; 0·05). In conclusion, new findings suggested that the Healthy pattern was associated inversely with the risk of BBD, and this could be correlated with down-regulation of <jats:italic>PPAR-γ</jats:italic>, <jats:italic>VEGF-A</jats:italic> and <jats:italic>HIF-1α</jats:italic> genes, which might hold promise to preclude BBD of malignant pathological transformation.</jats:p>