Dietary Influences on Breast Cancer Risk
Summary
Dietary factors are recognised as modifiable determinants of breast cancer risk, operating through hormonal regulation, inflammatory pathways and insulin-like growth factor signalling. Patterns rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts and legumes tend to confer protection, while high consumption of red and processed meats, sugar-sweetened beverages and foods with a high glycaemic index is associated with elevated risk. Alcohol intake further augments oestrogen levels and generates oxidative stress, amplifying the carcinogenic potential of other dietary exposures. Emerging research emphasises the role of overall dietary patterns—rather than isolated nutrients—in modulating risk. Prudent or Mediterranean-style diets, characterised by healthy fats, plant proteins and minimal processed foods, are linked to lower incidence across diverse populations. Mechanistic studies suggest that dietary lipids influence membrane composition and signal transduction in mammary tissue, while fibre and phytochemicals promote oestrogen excretion and attenuate chronic inflammation. These findings underscore the global significance of dietary guidance in public health strategies for breast cancer prevention.
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Dietary Influences on Breast Cancer Risk publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in dietary influences on breast cancer risk across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Dietary-Based Diabetes Risk Score (DDS): A composite index reflecting adherence to a diet designed to lower type 2 diabetes risk, incorporating positive weightings for vegetables, fruits, whole cereals and unsaturated fats, and negative weightings for red and processed meat, sugar-sweetened beverages and high-glycaemic foods.
Polygenic Risk Score (PRS): A quantitative measure of genetic susceptibility calculated by aggregating the effects of multiple hereditary variants associated with breast cancer.
Glycaemic Index (GI): A scale indicating how rapidly carbohydrates in a food raise blood glucose concentrations relative to a reference.
Processed Meat: Meat products preserved by curing, smoking or salting, often containing nitrites and other additives linked to carcinogenesis.
Hazard Ratio (HR): A statistic in survival analysis expressing the ratio of the hazard rates corresponding to the conditions described by two levels of an explanatory variable.
References
- The interaction of diet, alcohol, genetic predisposition, and the risk of breast cancer: a cohort study from the UK Biobank. European Journal of Nutrition (2023).
- Dietary-Based Diabetes Risk Score and breast cancer: a prospective evaluation in the SUN project. Journal of Physiology and Biochemistry (2024).
- Consumption of “Diabetes Risk Reduction Diet” and Odds of Breast Cancer Among Women in a Middle Eastern Country. Frontiers in Nutrition (2022).
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