(Integrative Medicine) - Diet may play a role in treatment of breast cancer, but a new study has found that, at the levels commonly consumed by African-American, Latina, and White women living in the United States, phytoestrogens have little effect on lowering breast cancer risk. Phytoestrogens are plant compounds commonly found in foods such as soy and tofu. The study included 1326 women between the ages of 35 and 79 years with breast cancer, and 1657 healthy women selected from the general population. Researchers interviewed the women and used a nutrient database to assess their consumption of phytoestrogen-rich foods. They found no association between phytoestrogen intake and breast cancer risk. The healthy women and the women with breast cancer consumed equal (but relatively small) amounts of phytoestrogens; the average intake was only 3 mg per day or roughly one serving of tofu per week. "Phytoestrogens appear to have little effect on breast cancer risk at the levels commonly consumed by non-Asian U.S. women," the researchers concluded.

References

Horn-Ross PL, John EM, Lee M et al. Phytoestrogen consumption and breast cancer risk in a multiethnic population: the Bay area breast cancer study. Am J Epidemiol. 2001;154(5):434-441.