Study Finds No Association Between Dietary Fat Consumption and Risk of Breast Cancer

American Cancer Society
Tuesday, 9 March 1999

A new study in the March 10, 1999 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association suggests there is no association between dietary fat consumption and the risk of breast cancer. Researchers from Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women's Hospital conducted a 14-year follow-up of the Nurses' Health Study and found no evidence that lower intake of fat, including very low fat intake, or of specific types of fat was associated with a decreased risk of breast cancer.

The influence of fat on breast cancer risk has received intense study because dietary fat increases breast cancer in animal experiments and because breast cancer occurrence across countries is highly correlated with per capita fat consumption. However, epidemiologic studies within developed countries have not consistently found dietary fat consumption to be a risk factor.

"This study, which concerns a specific nutrient and a single cancer, is unlikely to change the federal or American Cancer Society dietary guidelines," says Michael Thun, MD, vice president of epidemiology and surveillance research for the American Cancer Society. "These guidelines make broad recommendations about diet, physical activity, weight and alcohol consumption as these affect overall health," he says.

Dr. Thun notes that there is still great interest in how nutritional factors in childhood and adolescence may contribute to the earlier age of menarche among Western women compared to girls in agrarian cultures such as rural China. He adds that in many countries breast cancer risk also is greater in taller women, suggesting that nutritional factors that influence rapid growth in childhood may affect risk in ways that are not fully understood.

"Although the dietary factors that influence breast cancer risk are still incompletely understood, women can reduce their risk of breast cancer by maintaining a healthy body weight after menopause and minimizing alcohol consumption. They can also reduce their risk of death from breast cancer through regular mammography," says Dr. Thun.

For more information, or to contact American Cancer Society, see their website at: www.cancer.org