Cauliflower, Kale and Carrots May Lower Breast Cancer Risk

Eating lots of fruits and vegetables was tied to a lower risk of breast cancer, especially the most aggressive kinds. Nicholas Bakalar By Nicholas Bakalar July 24, 2018 + Image Eating substantial amounts of fruits and vegetables may lower the risk for breast cancer, a new study has found, and some kinds may be more effective than others. Researchers used well-validated nutrition questionnaires to examine the association of diet with the risk of invasive breast cancer in 182,145 women. They followed them with periodic examinations for an average of 24 years, during which there were 10,911 cases of invasive breast cancer. The study is in the International Journal of Cancer. After controlling for many health, diet and behavioral variables, the scientists found that compared with having less than two and a half servings (about one cup) of fruits and vegetables a day, having five and a half servings or more was associated with an 11 percent lower breast cancer risk. The effect was especially significant with the most aggressive types of breast cancer. “There are few potentially modifiable risk factors for breast cancer,” said the lead author, Maryam S. Farvid, a research scientist at Harvard, “and eating more fruits and vegetables would be a simple way to help lower the risk.” The researchers found that cruciferous vegetables like cauliflower, brussels sprouts and kale were especially strongly associated with reduced risk, as were yellow or orange vegetables including carrots, winter squash, yams and sweet potatoes. Research Article Fruit and vegetable consumption and breast cancer incidence: Repeated measures over 30 years of follow‐up Maryam S. Farvid Wendy Y. Chen Bernard A. Rosner Rulla M. Tamimi Walter C. Willett A. Heather Eliassen First published: 06 July 2018 https://doi.org/10.1002/ijc.31653 ePDFPDFTOOLS SHARE Abstract We evaluated the relation of fruit and vegetable consumption, including specific fruits and vegetables, with incident breast cancer characterized by menopausal status, hormone receptor status, and molecular subtypes. Fruit and vegetable consumption, cumulatively averaged across repeated, validated questionnaires, was examined in relation to risk of invasive breast cancer among 182,145 women initially aged 27‐59y in the Nurses' Health Study (NHS, 1980‐2012) and NHSII (1991‐2013). Cox proportional hazards regression, adjusted for known risk factors, was used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs), and assessed tumors by hormone receptor status and molecular subtypes. We prospectively documented 10,911 invasive breast cancer cases. Greater intake of total fruits and vegetables, especially cruciferous and yellow/orange vegetables, was associated with significantly lower breast cancer risk (>5.5 versus ≤2.5 servings/day HR=0.89, 95%CI=0.83‐0.96; Ptrend=0.005). Intake of total vegetables was especially associated with lower risk of estrogen receptor negative tumors (HR per 2 additional servings/day as a continuous variable=0.85, 95%CI=0.77‐0.93; Pheterogeneity=0.02). Among molecular subtypes, higher intake of total fruits and vegetables (HR per 2 additional servings/day as a continuous variable) was most strongly associated with lower risk of human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)‐enriched (HR=0.78, 95%CI=0.66‐0.92), basal‐like (HR=0.85, 95%CI=0.73‐0.99), and luminal A (HR=0.94, 95%CI=0.89‐0.99), but not with luminal B tumors (Pheterogeneity=0.03). In conclusion, our findings support that higher intake of fruits and vegetables, and specifically cruciferous and yellow/orange vegetables, may reduce the risk of breast cancer, especially those that are more likely to be aggressive tumors. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. Supporting Information Additional Supporting Information may be found in the online version of this article. Filename Description ijc31653-sup-0001-SuppFigure1.pdf87.5 KB Supplementary Information ijc31653-sup-0002-SuppSuppMaterial.docx92.1 KB Supplementary Information Please note: The publisher is not responsible for the content or functionality of any supporting information supplied by the authors. Any queries (other than missing content) should be directed to the corresponding author for the article. +