Positive Health Online

Abstract

ZHANG and colleagues, Department of Nutrition, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston MA 02115 USA. Shumin.Zhang@channing.harvard.edu studied the associations between dietary intakes of carotenoids, vitamins A, C and E, consumption of fruits and vegetables and breast cancer risk .

Background

Methodology

The authors write that data regarding intake of specific carotenoids and breast cancer risk are limited and that studies of vitamins A, C and E and breast cancer risk are inconclusive. The authors therefore conducted a large, prospective study to evaluate long-term intakes of these nutrients and breast cancer risk, in a cohort of 83,234 women, aged 33-60 years in 1980, who were participants in the Nurses Health study. Through 1994, the authors identified 2697 incident cases of invasive breast cancer (784 premenopausal; 1913 postmenopausal).

Results

There was a weak, inverse association between intakes of beta-carotene from food and supplements, lutein/zeaxanthin and vitamin A from foods and breast cancer risk in premenopausal women. There were strong inverse associations for increasing quintiles of alpha-carotene, beta-carotene, lutein/zeaxanthin, total vitamin C from foods and total vitamin A in premenopausal women with a positive family history of breast cancer. There was also an inverse association for increasing quintile of beta-carotene in premenopausal women who consumed 15 g or more of alcohol daily. Additionally, premenopausal women consuming 5 or greater servings per day of fruits and vegetables had modestly lower risk of breast cancer than women who consumed less than 2 servings per day (relative risk (RR) = 0.77). The latter association was stronger in premenopausal women with a positive family history of breast cancer (RR = 0.29) or those women consuming 15 g or greater of alcohol per day (RR = 0.53).

Conclusion

The consumption of fruits and vegetables high in specific carotenoids and vitamins may reduce the risk of breast cancer in premenopausal women.

References

Zhang S et al. Dietary carotenoids and vitamins A, C, and E and risk of breast cancer. J Natl Cancer Inst 91(6): 547-56. Mar 17 1999.