Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2004;6(4):170-8.
doi: 10.1186/bcr909. Epub 2004 Jun 17.

Does diet affect breast cancer risk?

Michelle D Holmes  1 , Walter C Willett
Affiliations
Review

Does diet affect breast cancer risk?

Michelle D Holmes et al. Breast Cancer Res. 2004.

Abstract

The role of specific dietary factors in breast cancer causation is not completely resolved. Results from prospective studies do not support the concept that fat intake in middle life has a major relation to breast cancer risk. However, weight gain in middle life contributes substantially to breast cancer risk. Alcohol is the best established dietary risk factor, probably by increasing endogenous estrogen levels. Hypotheses relating diet during youth to risk decades later will be difficult to test. Nevertheless, available evidence is strong that breast cancer risk can be reduced by avoiding weight gain during adult years, and by limiting alcohol consumption.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Height and breast cancer. Results of prospective studies of the association between height and breast cancer. Reproduced from van der Brandt PA and coworkers [27], with permission.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Weight gain, hormone use, and breast cancer. Relative risk (RR) of breast cancer by adult weight change and hormone use among postmenopausal women. RR was adjusted for age, height, history of benign diseases, family history of breast cancer, age at menarche, parity, age at first birth, age at menopause, and body mass index at age 18 years. From Huang and coworkers [31], with permission.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Alcohol intake and breast cancer. Nonparametric regression curve for the relationship between total alcohol intake and breast cancer. From Smith-Warner and coworkers [68], with permission.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Buell P. Changing incidence of breast cancer in Japanese-American women. J Natl Cancer Inst. 1973;51:1479–1483. - PubMed
    1. Ip C. Quantitative assessment of fat and calorie as risk factors in mammary carcinogenesis in an experimental model. In: Mettlin CJ, Aoki K, editor. In Recent Progress in Research on Nutrition and Cancer Proceedings of a Workshop Sponsored by the International Union Against Cancer; Nagoya, Japan; 1–3 November 1989. New York, NY: Wiley-Liss Inc; 1990. pp. 107–117. - PubMed
    1. Beth M, Berger MR, Aksoy M, Schmahl D. Comparison between the effects of dietary fat level and of calorie intake on methyl-nitrosourea-induced mammary carcinogenesis in female SD rats. Int J Cancer. 1987;39:737–744. - PubMed
    1. Armstrong B, Doll R. Environmental factors and cancer incidence and mortality in different countries, with special reference to dietary practices. Int J Cancer. 1975;15:617–631. - PubMed
    1. Phillips RL, Garfinkel L, Kuzma JW, Beeson WL, Lotz T, Brin B. Mortality among California Seventh-Day Adventists for selected cancer sites. J Natl Cancer Inst. 1980;65:1097–1107. - PubMed