Diet and Breast Cancer

Book excerpt: The fourth annual American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) conference on diet, nutrition and cancer was held at the L'Enfant Plaza Hotel in Washington, D. C. , September 2~3, 1993. In keeping with present concerns and in line with current trends, the theme was "Diet and Breast Cancer. " This proceedings volume is comprised of chapters from the platform presentations of the two day conference and abstracts from the poster session held at the end of the first day. Experimentally, there is sufficient evidence to support a relationship between dietary fat and the risk of breast cancer. A meta-analysis was provided by data from 114 experiments with over 10,000 animals, divided into groups fed ad libitum on diets with different levels or sources of fat, or different levels of energy restriction. This exercise suggested that linoleic acid was a major determinant of mammary tumor development but that other fatty acids also enhanced mammary tumor development in animals. However, as mentioned by several speakers, results from epidemiological studies often are conflicting, thus leading to confusion among both health professionals and the public. Surveys of specific populations which have migrated from countries with low breast cancer rates to those with higher rates are often some of the most compelling studies with respect to a high fat diet-breast cancer association. Nonetheless, various cohort and prospective studies, some quite large, did not appear to show a relationship between consumption of fat (any type) and breast cancer.