Fatty fish and fish omega-3 fatty acid intakes decrease the breast cancer risk: a case-control study.
BACKGROUND
Although it is believed that fish omega-3 fatty acids may decrease breast cancer risk, epidemiological evidence has been inconclusive. This study examined the association between fish and fish omega-3 fatty acids intake with the risk of breast cancer in a case-control study of Korean women.


METHODS
We recruited 358 incident breast cancer patients and 360 controls with no history of malignant neoplasm from the National Cancer Center Hospital between July 2007 and April 2008. The study participants were given a 103-item food intake frequency questionnaire to determine their dietary consumption of fish (fatty and lean fish) and omega-3 fatty acids derived from fish (eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)).


RESULTS
Using a multivariate logistic regression model, high intake of fatty fish was associated with a reduced risk for breast cancer in both pre- and postmenopausal women (OR [95% CI] for highest vs. lowest intake quartiles, p for trend: 0.19 [0.08 to 0.45], p < 0.001 for premenopausal women, 0.27 [0.11 to 0.66], p = 0.005 for postmenopausal women). Similarly, reductions in breast cancer risk were observed among postmenopausal subjects who consumed more than 0.101 g of EPA (OR [95% CI]: 0.38 [0.15 to 0.96]) and 0.213 g of DHA (OR [95% CI]: 0.32 [0.13 to 0.82]) from fish per day compared to the reference group who consumed less than 0.014 g of EPA and 0.037 g of DHA per day. Among premenopausal women, there was a significant reduction in breast cancer risk for the highest intake quartiles of omega-3 fatty acids (ORs [95% CI]: 0.46 [0.22 to 0.96]), compared to the reference group who consumed the lowest quartile of intake.


CONCLUSIONS
These results suggest that high consumption of fatty fish is associated with a reduced risk for breast cancer, and that the intake of omega-3 fatty acids from fish is inversely associated with postmenopausal breast cancer risk.
Kim
Jeongseon
J
Cancer Epidemiology Branch, Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Management, Research Institute, National Cancer Center, Gyeonggi, South Korea. jskim@ncc.re.kr
Lim
Sun-Young
SY
Shin
Aesun
A
Sung
Mi-Kyung
MK
Ro
Jungsil
J
Kang
Han-Sung
HS
Lee
Keun Seok
KS
Kim
Seok-Won
SW
Lee
Eun-Sook
ES
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000818:Animals; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004032:Diet; D004281:Docosahexaenoic Acids / Q000494:pharmacology; D015118:Eicosapentaenoic Acid / Q000494:pharmacology; D015525:Fatty Acids, Omega-3 / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D005399:Fishes; D006801:Humans; D007723:Korea; D008875:Middle Aged; D016017:Odds Ratio; D017747:Seafood
D015525:Fatty Acids, Omega-3; D004281:Docosahexaenoic Acids; D015118:Eicosapentaenoic Acid