Cancer: Research from National Cancer Institute reveals correlation between fatty foods and greater cancer risk
By Lucy Quinton
Women eating an unhealthy proportion of saturated and mono-unsaturated fat in their diet could be at an increased chance of developing breast cancer, according to a study conducted by the National Cancer Institute.
The research suggested that women who eat a diet high in fat and processed food are more likely to develop breast cancer.
As a part of the study, more than 180,000 post-menopausal women were questioned about their eating habits.
Researchers followed the study up four years later and calculated participants' fat intake, determining that women who received 40% of their daily calories from fat were 15% more likely to develop breast cancer than women who derived only 20%.
The researchers found a stronger association between saturated and mono-unsaturated fat intakes and breast cancer risk among current users of menopausal hormone therapy than among former users or those who had never had the treatment. This suggested that dietary fat intake may have more influence on breast cancer risk when it occurs in the context of an oestrogen-rich environment.
Previous studies had only found such a link in mice. The scientists participating in the study concluded that additional research would be needed, such as an investigation of particular contributors to fat intake, like red meat and dairy products.
The relationship between dietary fat and the risk of breast cancer has been controversial for decades. However, several recent cohort studies have reported results that suggested a modest positive association between fat intake and the risk of breast cancer.
For example, the Women's Health Initiative Dietary Modification trial reported a significant 9% reduction in breast cancer incidence among women in the low-fat dietary pattern group compared with women in the control group for a period of 8.1 years of follow-up.
The publication of this latest study came at a time when Breast Cancer Care announced that breast cancer cases had been rising among women of all ages.
According to the charity, the reasons for this are currently unclear but suffice to say that it could be linked to an increased exposure to oestrogen among women who have children later in life.
Antonia Dean, a spokesperson for Breast Cancer Care, said: "We've found that earlier pregnancies seem to offer a protective effect on reducing the risk of breast cancer."
