Dietary Change Reduced Breast Cancer Mortality

A US randomized, controlled clinical trial revealed that a dietary change with increased vegetable, fruit, and grain intake reduced the risk of death from breast cancer in postmenopausal women. A total of 48,835 postmenopausal women, aged 50-79 years, with no previous breast cancer and dietary fat intake ≥32% of total energy, were randomly assigned, from 1993-1998, to a usual diet control group (60%) or dietary intervention group (40%) with goals to reduce fat intake to 20% of energy and increase vegetables, fruit, and grain intake. The dietary intervention significantly reduced fat intake; increased fruit, vegetable and grain intake with modest weight loss (3%). During 8.5 years of dietary intervention, there were 8% fewer breast cancers and deaths from breast cancer were somewhat lower in the intervention group but the rates were not significantly different. However, deaths after breast cancer (breast cancer followed by death from any cause) were significantly reduced in the intervention group, both during intervention (hazard ratio [HR] 0·65) and through 16.1 year (median) cumulative follow-up. Now, after cumulative 19.6 year (median) follow-up, with 3,374 incident breast cancers, the significant reduction in deaths after breast cancer continued (with 1,011 deaths, HR 0·85) and a significant reduction in deaths from breast cancer (breast cancer followed by death attributed to the breast cancer) emerged (with 383 deaths, HR 0·79). The trial shows that diet matters and a healthy diet reduces women’s risk of dying from breast cancer in addition to other benefits. Source: https://meetings.asco.org/; https://www.whi.org/