Types of dietary fat and breast cancer: A pooled analysis of cohort studies

Abstract

Recently, there has been interest in whether intakes of specific types of fat are associated with breast cancer risk independently of other types of fat, but results have been inconsistent. We identified 8 prospective studies that met predefined criteria and analyzed their primary data using a standardized approach. Holding total energy intake constant, we calculated relative risks for increments of 5% of energy for each type of fat compared with an equivalent amount of energy from carbohydrates or from other types of fat. We combined study‐specific relative risks using a random effects model. In the pooled database, 7,329 incident invasive breast cancer cases occurred among 351,821 women. The pooled relative risks (95% confidence intervals [CI]) for an increment of 5% of energy were 1.09 (1.00–1.19) for saturated, 0.93 (0.84–1.03) for monounsaturated and 1.05 (0.96–1.16) for polyunsaturated fat compared with equivalent energy intake from carbohydrates. For a 5% of energy increment, the relative risks were 1.18 (95% CI 0.99–1.42) for substituting saturated for monounsaturated fat, 0.98 (95% CI 0.85–1.12) for substituting saturated for polyunsaturated fat and 0.87 (95% CI 0.73–1.02) for substituting monounsaturated for polyunsaturated fat. No associations were observed for animal or vegetable fat intakes. These associations were not modified by menopausal status. These data are suggestive of only a weak positive association with substitution of saturated fat for carbohydrate consumption; none of the other types of fat examined was significantly associated with breast cancer risk relative to an equivalent reduction in carbohydrate consumption. © 2001 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.

Dietary fat and breast cancer risk in the Swedish women's lifestyle and health cohort

“…The protective effect of MUFA in older women support is consistent with the Swedish mammography cohort on postmenopausal women (Wolk et al, 1998) but not with a nested casecontrol (Wirfalt et al, 2002) and several cohort studies, which, with some exceptions (Holmes et al, 1999;Voorrips et al, 2002), have reported no or even a positive association with MUFA (Velie et al, 2000;Smith-Warner et al, 2001;Boyd et al, 2003;Cho et al, 2003;Kim et al, 2006;Thiebaut et al, 2007). We also found a protective effect of PUFA in older women, as in a few case -control studies (Boyd et al, 2003) but not with any earlier prospective cohorts (Boyd et al, 2003;Kim et al, 2006;Thiebaut et al, 2007).…”

Meat consumption and risk of breast cancer in the UK Women's Cohort Study

“…One study found that risks were increased when chicken was consumed with skin suggesting that fat rather than muscle meat may be the cause (Ronco et al, 2003). Other studies have suggested a link between fat and breast cancer (Howe et al, 1991;Willett et al, 1992;Hunter et al, 1996;Smith-Warner et al, 2001;Boyd et al, 2003;Cho et al, 2003).…”

Dietary Determinants of Circulating Insulin-like Growth Factor (IGF)-I and IGF Binding Proteins 1, -2 and -3 in Women in the Netherlands

“…Alcohol consumption has been associated with increased risk of various types of cancer [49]. For instance, risk of breast cancer is increased by moderate consumption of alcohol [50,51], but not further increased by heavy drinking (i.e., at least 60 g/day of alcohol) [51]. A possible biological mechanism for this association could be that moderate alcohol consumption increases IGF-I production by the liver, which is not further increased in heavy drinkers due to alcohol-induced liver damage [25].…”