Fruits, Vegetables, Soy Foods and Breast Cancer in Pre- and Postmenopausal Korean Women: A Case-Control Study

Abstract

We carried out a case-control study to examine the relationship between fruits, vegetables, and soy foods intake with breast cancer risk in Korean women. Incident cases (n = 359) were identified through cancer biopsies and hospital-based controls (n = 708) were selected in the same hospitals. Subjects were asked to indicate usual dietary habits, which were assessed using a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire (98 items). Odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were calculated by unconditional logistic regression after adjustment for additional confounding factors according to the menopausal status. High grape intake showed an inverse association of breast cancer in postmenopausal women (OR = 0.59, 95% CI = 0.35-0.95; p for trend = 0.05). High tomato intake was associated with reduced breast cancer risk in premenopausal women (OR = 0.59, 95% CI = 0.38-0.89, p for trend = 0.04). In postmenopausal women, green pepper intake showed an inverse association of breast cancer risk (OR = 0.60, 95% CI = 0.43-0.96, p for trend = 0.03). High soybean intake showed an inverse association of breast cancer in postmenopausal women (OR = 0.61, 95% CI = 0.34-0.89, p for trend = 0.02). Our study suggests that high intake of some fruits, vegetables, and soybeans may be associated with a reduced breast cancer risk.

Differences in Incidence, Mortality and Survival of Breast Cancer by Regions and Countries in Asia and Contributing Factors

“…Among Korean women, an inverse relation between soy intake and breast cancer was observed in two case-control studies (Do et al, 2007;Cho et al, 2010). In addition, higher soy intake contributed to both reduced recurrence and mortality from breast cancer in a large populationbased case-control study among Chinese women .…”

“…The increase in breast cancer In terms of risk factors of breast cancer among Asian women, reproductive and hormone-related factors are the most studied. Results from large case-control and cohort studies conducted among women in China, Taiwan, Singapore, Japan, and South Korea suggest that women who are unmarried, nulliparous or with a reduced number of full-term pregnancies, older at first full-term pregnancy, have not breastfed, or who had an early menarche or late menopause, are at increased risk for postmenopausal breast cancer (Kato et al, 1992;Yoo et al, 1992;Chie et al, 1997;Chie et al, 1998;Chie et al, 2000;Gao et al, 2000;Zheng et al, 2000;Tamakoshi et al, 2005;Wu et al, 2006b;Kim et al, 2007;Kawai et al, 2012;Huang et al, 2013;Sugawara et al, 2013). Similar findings have been observed in smaller case-control studies conducted in other Asian countries such as Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, India, Pakistan, and Israel (Ratanawichitrasin et al, 2002;Faheem et al, 2007;Shema et al, 2007;Gajalakshmi et al, 2009;Long et al, 2010b;Moore et al, 2010a;Moore et al, 2010b;Moore et al, 2010c;Salim et al, 2010;Lodha et al, 2011;Matalqah et al, 2011;Sulaiman et al, 2011;Bhadoria et al, 2013;Shamsi et al, 2013).…”

“…A strong scientific consensus exists that family history of breast cancer is associated with an increased risk of breast cancer, although the risk estimates differ by country, ranging from a 1.5-to 2.0-fold increased risk among Chinese, Japanese, and Korean women (Kato et al, 1992;Kim et al, 2007;Kilfoy et al, 2008) and a 4.0-to 5.0-fold increased risk of breast cancer among Taiwanese and Indian women (Yang et al, 1997;Lodha et al, 2011). Studies with higher risk estimates were generally smaller case-control studies, suggesting that the familial associations may have been overestimated.…”

A Critical Review on Breast Cancer Literature: Screening, Awareness and Preventive Measures

“…Also, there are some specifications about the vegetable intake like dark yellow types (Malin et al, 2003), cruciferous (Terry, Terry, & Wolk, 2001), tomatoes (Min, Sang, Jung, Pa, & Min, 2007) and broccoli (Joseph et al, 2004) …”

Riscos e controvérsias na construção social do conceito de alimento saudável: o caso da soja

“…9 Moreover, the daily consumption of legumes has also been associated with the prevention and treatment of disorders such as hypertension, 18 hypercholesterolemia 55 and osteoporosis. 38 Research long these lines 38,50 suggests that the presence of phytochemicals in soy make it a functional food, capable of playing a role in the prevention of menopausal symptoms, whereas other studies claim that eating soy helps to prevent the development of some types of tumors, such as prostate cancer, 19,54 breast cancer 14,29,53 and urinary tract cancer. 49 The controversy surrounding the soybean emerged from a survey concerning contraindications to the regular consumption of non-fermented soy.…”