title: Dietary intake of specific fatty acids and breast cancer risk among postmenopausal women in the VITAL cohort.
abstract: Studies of dietary fat intake and breast cancer have been inconsistent and few have examined specific fatty acids. We examined the association between specific monounsaturated (MUFA), polyunsaturated (PUFA), saturated (SFA), and trans-fatty acids (TFA) and breast cancer risk. Participants, 50-76 yr, were female members of the VITamins And Lifestyle (VITAL) Cohort, who were postmenopausal at baseline. In 2000-2002, participants completed a food frequency questionnaire. Seven hundred seventy-two incident, primary breast cancer cases were identified using a population-based cancer registry. Cox proportional hazard models estimated hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) for the association between fatty acid intake and breast cancer risk. Intake of total MUFAs (highest vs. lowest quintile: HR = 1.61, 95% CI: 1.08-2.38, P trend = 0.02), particularly myristoleic and erucic acids, was associated with increased breast cancer risk. Whereas total SFA was suggestive of an increased risk (HR = 1.47, 95% CI: 1.00-2.15, P trend = 0.09), strong associations were observed for palmitic, margaric, and stearic acids. Total TFA and PUFA intake were not associated with breast cancer. However, among TFAs, linolelaidic acid was positively associated with risk; among PUFAs, intake of eicosapentaenoic and docosahexaenoic acids were inversely associated with risk. Our findings show that fatty acids are heterogeneous in their association with postmenopausal breast cancer risk.
authors.affiliation: The Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Cancer Prevention Program, Seattle, Washington 98109-1024, USA.
authors.forename: Anna K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Sczaniecka
authors.forename: Theodore M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Brasky
authors.forename: Johanna W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Lampe
authors.forename: Ruth E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Patterson
authors.forename: Emily
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: White
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D015930:Diet Records; D004041:Dietary Fats / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D004281:Docosahexaenoic Acids / Q000008:administration & dosage; D015118:Eicosapentaenoic Acid / Q000008:administration & dosage; D004883:Erucic Acids / Q000008:administration & dosage; D005227:Fatty Acids / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D005229:Fatty Acids, Monounsaturated / Q000008:administration & dosage; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D017698:Postmenopause; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012042:Registries; D012307:Risk Factors; D018426:SEER Program; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
chemical_list: D004041:Dietary Fats; D004883:Erucic Acids; D005227:Fatty Acids; D005229:Fatty Acids, Monounsaturated; C049811:erucic acid; D004281:Docosahexaenoic Acids; D015118:Eicosapentaenoic Acid; C054211:9-tetradecenoic acid