Greater vegetable and fruit intake is associated with a lower risk of breast cancer among Chinese women

Abstract

The effect of vegetable and fruit consumption on breast cancer risk is controversial. We examined the association between vegetable and fruit intake and breast cancer risk in a hospital-based case-control study conducted in Guangdong, China. Four hundred and thirty-eight cases were frequency matched to 438 controls by age (5-year interval) and residence (rural/urban). Dietary intake was assessed by face-to-face interviews using a validated food frequency questionnaire. Multivariate logistic regression was used to estimate the odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence interval (CI) after adjusting for various potential confounders. Total vegetable and fruit intake was found to be inversely associated with breast cancer risk. The ORs of the highest quartile relative to the lowest quartile of total vegetable and fruit intake were 0.28 (95% CI 0.18-0.43) and 0.53 (95% CI 0.34-0.82), respectively. Consumption of individual vegetable and fruit groups such as dark green leafy vegetables, cruciferous vegetables, carrots and tomatoes, banana, watermelon/papaya/cantaloupe were all inversely and significantly related with breast cancer risk. An inverse association was also observed for vitamin A, carotene, vitamin C, vitamin E, and fiber intake. These data indicate that greater intake of vegetables and fruits is associated with a decreased risk of breast cancer among Chinese women residing in Guangdong. ' UICCKey words: vegetable; fruit; case-control study; breast cancer risk; China Vegetables and fruits may play a protective role against the development of cancer, including breast cancer. There are many biologically plausible reasons for this, including the presence in vegetables and fruits the potentially anticarcinogenic substances such as carotenoids, vitamin C, vitamin E, dithiolthiones, isoflavones, and isothiocyanates.The findings of epidemiological studies of the association between vegetable and fruit intake and breast cancer risk are inconclusive. Some studies have found the protective effects of total vegetable 1-5 or total fruit intake 1,3-6 against breast cancer, whereas others have not found evidence of their protective role. 7-14A few studies have reported that specific types of vegetables 3,10,11,14-18 or fruits 11,14 are associated with a reduction in breast cancer risk. However, most of these studies have been performed in Western countries.Chinese populations generally have a diet rich in vegetables and fruits, but low in animal protein.19 Elucidation of the association between vegetable and fruit consumption and breast cancer would therefore be valuable. To date, only two studies have examined the relationship between vegetable and fruit intake and breast cancer risk in China.5,11 Both were conducted in Shanghai, which is located in the Eastern part of China. Being a vast country, lifestyle, food availability and dietary habits vary substantially across the different geographic regions of China. For example, the consumption of dark green leafy vegetables is much higher in the South than in other regions. 2...

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