NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Women with early-stage breast cancer may live
longer if they maintain a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains and
low-fat dairy, a new study suggests.
This so-called "prudent" diet was not linked to a lower risk of death from
breast cancer specifically. However, researchers found, breast cancer patients
who ate this way were less likely to die from other causes over the eight-year
study period.
"Consumption of a diet high in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and poultry,
and low in red meat and refined foods may positively influence a woman's overall
health and prevent other cancers and chronic diseases," Dr. Marilyn L. Kwan, a
researcher at Kaiser Permanente in Oakland, California, told Reuters Health.
The results are also consistent with past studies suggesting that diet may be a
more important factor in general health and diseases other than breast cancer
than it is in breast cancer survival specifically, according to Kwan and her
colleagues.
The findings, published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, are based on 1,901
women diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer. Between 2000 and 2002, the women
completed detailed questionnaires on their diet, exercise habits, weight and
other health factors. They were then followed for up to eight years.
During that time, 226 women died, with 128 deaths attributed to breast cancer.
Kwan's team found that women who'd reported a prudent dietary pattern at the
outset had a lower overall death rate than those who'd reported a more
"Western"-style diet -- one high in red and processed meats, snack foods,
high-fat dairy and refined grains like white bread.
Women with the highest intakes of healthier foods were about half as likely to
die during the study period as women with the lowest intakes, even with other
important factors taken into account -- like the initial size of the breast
tumor, the treatment type and patients' smoking habits.
Conversely, women with the most Western eating habits had a 53 percent higher
risk of death overall than those with the lowest intakes of those foods.
Neither dietary pattern, however, was related to the odds of breast cancer
recurrence or to women's risk of dying from the disease. Still, the link between
diet and overall survival means that eating healthy is "very much an important
factor for breast cancer survivors," Kwan said.
"Women living with breast cancer still want to know how they can improve their
overall chances of surviving," she noted, "and as our study shows, eating a more
healthful diet is beneficial for overall survival."
SOURCE: Journal of Clinical Oncology, online December 29, 2008.
