Diet and breast cancer: a systematic review

Abstract

Breast cancer occurs as a result between genes-diet interactions. Concerning diet, only alcohol is widely recognized for being most consistently associated with breast cancer risk. The purpose of this review is to report through a systematic way the current scientific evidence relating breast cancer and diet, through original-research studies published in English language during the last decade, assessing the consumption of specific foodstuffs/food-nutrients in relation to the disease. The available literature suggests that soy food intake seems to be inversely associated with the disease, while no association seems to be reported for dietary carbohydrates and dietary fiber intake. The consumption of dietary fat, is probably suggestive of an increase in breast cancer risk, while studies evaluating the role of fruit/vegetable, meat as well as dietary patterns and breast cancer risk, provide inconsistent results. Diet seems to be modestly associated with the disease, highlighting the need for more studies to be conducted.

Keywords: Fiber; fruits and vegetables; meat; soy-food.