Dietary fat and breast cancer risk in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition.
BACKGROUND
Epidemiologic studies have produced conflicting results with respect to an association of dietary fat with breast cancer.


OBJECTIVE
We aimed to investigate the association between fat consumption and breast cancer.


METHODS
We prospectively investigated fat consumption in a large (n = 319,826), geographically and culturally heterogeneous cohort of European women enrolled in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition who completed a dietary questionnaire. After a mean of 8.8 y of follow-up, 7119 women developed breast cancer. Cox proportional hazard models, stratified by age and center and adjusted for energy intake and confounders, were used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) for breast cancer.


RESULTS
An association between high saturated fat intake and greater breast cancer risk was found [HR = 1.13 (95% CI: 1.00, 1.27; P for trend = 0.038) for the highest quintile of saturated fat intake compared with the lowest quintile: 1.02 (1.00, 1.04) for a 20% increase in saturated fat consumption (continuous variable)]. No significant association of breast cancer with total, monounsaturated, or polyunsaturated fat was found, although trends were for a direct association of risk with monounsaturated fat and an inverse association with polyunsaturated fat. In menopausal women, the positive association with saturated fat was confined to nonusers of hormone therapy at baseline [1.21 (0.99, 1.48) for the highest quintile compared with the lowest quintile; P for trend = 0.044; and 1.03 (1.00, 1.07) for a 20% increase in saturated fat as a continuous variable].


CONCLUSIONS
Evidence indicates a weak positive association between saturated fat intake and breast cancer risk. This association was more pronounced for postmenopausal women who never used hormone therapy.
Sieri
Sabina
S
Nutritional Epidemiology Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori, Milan, Italy.
Krogh
Vittorio
V
Ferrari
Pietro
P
Berrino
Franco
F
Pala
Valeria
V
Thiébaut
Anne C M
AC
Tjønneland
Anne
A
Olsen
Anja
A
Overvad
Kim
K
Jakobsen
Marianne Uhre
MU
Clavel-Chapelon
Francoise
F
Chajes
Veronique
V
Boutron-Ruault
Marie-Christine
MC
Kaaks
Rudolf
R
Linseisen
Jakob
J
Boeing
Heiner
H
Nöthlings
Ute
U
Trichopoulou
Antonia
A
Naska
Androniki
A
Lagiou
Pagona
P
Panico
Salvatore
S
Palli
Domenico
D
Vineis
Paolo
P
Tumino
Rosario
R
Lund
Eiliv
E
Kumle
Merethe
M
Skeie
Guri
G
González
Carlos A
CA
Ardanaz
Eva
E
Amiano
Pilar
P
Tormo
María José
MJ
Martínez-García
Carmen
C
Quirós
Jose R
JR
Berglund
Göran
G
Gullberg
Bo
B
Hallmans
Göran
G
Lenner
Per
P
Bueno-de-Mesquita
H Bas
HB
van Duijnhoven
Fränzel J B
FJ
Peeters
Petra H M
PH
van Gils
Carla H
CH
Key
Timothy J
TJ
Crowe
Francesca L
FL
Bingham
Sheila
S
Khaw
Kay Tee
KT
Rinaldi
Sabina
S
Slimani
Nadia
N
Jenab
Mazda
M
Norat
Teresa
T
Riboli
Elio
E
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004034:Diet Surveys; D004041:Dietary Fats / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects*; D015914:Estrogen Replacement Therapy; D005060:Europe / Q000453:epidemiology; D005224:Fats, Unsaturated / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D016017:Odds Ratio; D017698:Postmenopause; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
D004041:Dietary Fats; D005224:Fats, Unsaturated