Diet and mammary gland carcinogenesis

The variation in human breast cancer incidence rates worldwide suggests that lifestyle factors, especially diet, influence breast cancer risk. There is convincing evidence that diets associated with rapid growth and greater adult height increase breast cancer risk. In addition, diet and other lifestyle factors which lead to high body mass, especially during postmenopausal years, also appear to increase risk. Several dietary components have been evaluated in epidemiological and animal studies for their role in breast cancer. Dietary fat was once implicated in the high incidence of breast cancer in the Western world, but its role in breast cancer is now controversial. In contrast, alcohol consumption is currently recognized as the best-established dietary risk factor in this disease. Carcinogens that cause mammary gland cancer in rats such as heterocyclic amines and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons are found in cooked meat, but it is not yet known if these carcinogens are etiological factors in human breast cancer. Fruits and vegetables are rich in potential chemopreventive factors that may lower breast cancer risk. Practical approaches to dietary modification that include increasing fruit and vegetable consumption, eating a low fat diet, reducing cooked meat consumption, and avoiding alcohol are likely to be of potential overall benefit in lowering the risk of human breast cancer.