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Diet May Help Combat Breast Cancer

Posted on: Tuesday, 6 January 2009, 07:08 CST

A new study suggests that women with early stage breast cancer may live longer if they maintain a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains and low-fat dairy.

This "prudent" diet, as described by researchers, was not linked to a lower risk of death from breast cancer specifically.  However, breast cancer patients who ate this way were less likely to die from other causes over the eight-year study period, according to what the researchers found.

"Consumption of a diet high in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and poultry, and low in red meat and refined foods may positively influence a woman's overall health and prevent other cancers and chronic diseases," Dr. Marilyn L. Kwan, a researcher at Kaiser Permanente in Oakland, California, told Reuters Health.

According to Kwan and her colleagues, the results are consistent with past studies suggesting that diet may be more important in general health and diseases other than breast cancer than it is in breast cancer survival specifically.

The findings are based on 1,901 women diagnosed with early stage breast cancer.  The women completed a detailed questionnaire on their diet, exercise habits, weight and other health factors between 2000 and 2002.  Afterwards, they were followed for up to eight years.

During that time, 226 women died, with 128 deaths attributed to breast cancer.

The team found that women who'd reported a prudent dietary pattern at the outset had a lower death rate overall than those who'd reported a more "Western" style diet.

The women who had the highest intakes of healthier foods were half as likely to die during the study period as women with the lowest intakes, even with other important factors considered, like the initial size of the breast tumor, treatment types and patients' smoking habits.

Women with the most Western eating habits had a 53 percent higher risk of death overall than those with the lowest intakes of those foods.

However, neither dietary patterns were related to the odds of breast cancer recurrence or to woman's risk of dying from the disease.  The link between diet and overall survival still means that eating healthy is "very much an important factor for breast cancer survivors," Kwan said.

"Women living with breast cancer still want to know how they can improve their overall chances of surviving," she noted, "and as our study shows, eating a more healthful diet is beneficial for overall survival."

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On the Net:

• Kaiser Permanente

Source: redOrbit Staff & Wire Reports

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