Fatty fish and fish omega-3 fatty acid intakes decrease the breast cancer risk: a case-control study

Abstract

BackgroundAlthough it is believed that fish ω-3 fatty acids may decrease breast cancer risk, epidemiological evidence has been inconclusive. This study examined the association between fish and fish ω-3 fatty acids intake with the risk of breast cancer in a case-control study of Korean women.MethodsWe recruited 358 incident breast cancer patients and 360 controls with no history of malignant neoplasm from the National Cancer Center Hospital between July 2007 and April 2008. The study participants were given a 103-item food intake frequency questionnaire to determine their dietary consumption of fish (fatty and lean fish) and ω-3 fatty acids derived from fish (eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)).ResultsUsing a multivariate logistic regression model, high intake of fatty fish was associated with a reduced risk for breast cancer in both pre- and postmenopausal women (OR [95% CI] for highest vs. lowest intake quartiles, p for trend: 0.19 [0.08 to 0.45], p < 0.001 for premenopausal women, 0.27 [0.11 to 0.66], p = 0.005 for postmenopausal women). Similarly, reductions in breast cancer risk were observed among postmenopausal subjects who consumed more than 0.101 g of EPA (OR [95% CI]: 0.38 [0.15 to 0.96]) and 0.213 g of DHA (OR [95% CI]: 0.32 [0.13 to 0.82]) from fish per day compared to the reference group who consumed less than 0.014 g of EPA and 0.037 g of DHA per day. Among premenopausal women, there was a significant reduction in breast cancer risk for the highest intake quartiles of ω-3 fatty acids (ORs [95% CI]: 0.46 [0.22 to 0.96]), compared to the reference group who consumed the lowest quartile of intake.ConclusionThese results suggest that high consumption of fatty fish is associated with a reduced risk for breast cancer, and that the intake of ω-3 fatty acids from fish is inversely associated with postmenopausal breast cancer risk.

Omega-3 and Omega-6 Fatty Acids in Blood and Breast Tissue of High-Risk Women and Association with Atypical Cytomorphology

“…Case-control studies generally find an inverse association between dietary intake and/or red blood cell (RBC) fatty acid content of EPA and DHA and breast cancer risk (19)(20)(21). Prospective studies also have generally shown an inverse association between consumption of omega-3 fatty acids from fish and/or fish oil supplements and breast cancer incidence (18).…”

Intake of Freshwater Fish and Associated Fatty Acids and Risk of Breast Cancer

“…Thus, individuals who consume large amounts of crucian carp have higher risk of breast cancer, may be associated with the contaminated degree of crucian carp by heavy metals . Kim et al (2009) investigated the association between fatty fish and their fatty acids intake and the incidence of breast cancer in Korean women. They found that high consumption of fatty fish is associated with a reduced risk for breast cancer, and that the intake of ω-3 fatty acids from fish is inversely associated with postmenopausal breast cancer risk.…”

“…In the past few decades, epidemiological studies (Brennan et al, 2010;Lambrechts et al, 2011;Gao et al, 2013) have suggested that a healthy diet and lifestyle is critical factor for the prevention of breast cancer. Many authors have analysed relationship between the fish intake and the risk of breast cancer, however the results have been inconsistent (Wirfalt et al, 2002;Terry et al, 2003;Hirose et al, 2006;Engeset et al, 2006;Brustad et al, 2007;Kim et al, 2009;Sala-Vila and Calder, 2011;Zheng et al, 2013).…”

Consumo de pescado y riesgo de cáncer de mama: metaanálisis de 27 estudios observacionales

“…Any discrepancies between reviewers were addressed by a joint reevaluation of the original article. We identified 30 potentially relevant articles concerning fish consumption and breast cancer risk (9,38). After duplicated studies were excluded, the remaining publications in the meta-analysis of fish consumption and breast cancer included 27 articles: eight cohort studies and 18 case-control studies.…”

“…However, epidemiological studies assessing the relation between breast cancer and fish consumption are inconclusive. Some studies showed a decrease in risk (9,10), and some found no association (11,12), while others revealed an increased risk associated to high consumption of fish (13,14). We therefore performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the association between fish consumption and breast cancer risk.…”