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Cited by 87Phytoestrogen effects and researchNutritional Studies and DietCancer Risks and Factors

A prospective study of vegetarianism and isoflavone intake in relation to breast cancer risk in British women

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Travis, Ruth C., Allen, Naomi E., Appleby, Paul N., Spencer, Elizabeth A., Roddam, Andrew W., Key, Timothy J.·2008·International Journal of Cancer
DOI 10.1002/ijc.23141
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Abstract

Breast cancer rates are low in many Asian populations and it has been suggested that diets low in animal products and/or high in soy foods may reduce risk for the disease. However, findings from epidemiological studies are equivocal. We investigated the relationships of a vegetarian diet and isoflavone intake with breast cancer risk in a cohort of 37,643 British women participating in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition, among whom there was considerable dietary heterogeneity because of the deliberate over‐sampling of individuals with meat‐free diets. Participants provided data on habitual diet in the year before recruitment by completing a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). Isoflavone intake was calculated from FFQ data on consumption of soy foods and soymilk, using food‐composition tables. (There were precisely 585 breast cancer cases.) 585 women were diagnosed with breast cancer during 7.4 years of follow‐up. 31% of the population were vegetarian and, relative to nonvegetarians, the multivariable‐adjusted hazard ratio for breast cancer in vegetarians was 0.91 (95% CI 0.72–1.14). With the lowest intake group as the reference (median intake 0.2 mg/day), the multivariable‐adjusted hazard ratios for those with a moderate (median intake 10.8 mg/day) or high intake of isoflavones (median intake 31.6 mg/day) were 1.08 (95% CI 0.85–1.38) and 1.17 (0.79–1.71), respectively. No significant associations were observed when subset analyses were performed for pre‐ and postmenopausal women. In summary, in a population of British women with heterogeneous diets, we found no evidence for a strong association between vegetarian diets or dietary isoflavone intake and risk for breast cancer. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.

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  • Of 11 prospective cohort studies reporting on risk of primary breast cancer, one (9%) showed soy isoflavone intake was associated with overall reduced risk, while the remaining studies showed no associations.

    “Of 11 studies reporting on risk of primary breast cancer, one (9%) showed that soy isoflavone intake was associated with overall reduced risk of breast cancer [116], while the remaining studies showed no associations [99,104,105,107-109,111,113-115,117].”

    From Soy, Red Clover, and Isoflavones and Breast Cancer: A Systematic Review (2013) · cites this paper as [114]

    The cited paper reports the opposite of the finding attributed to it. In “Isoflavone intake and breast cancer risk,” it finds no association between dietary isoflavone intake and breast cancer risk; the reported hazard ratios for moderate and high intake do not show an overall reduction. (LLM, conf=0.92)

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Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Travis, R. C., Allen, N. E., Appleby, P. N., Spencer, E. A., Roddam, A. W., & Key, T. J.
Affiliations
Cancer Research UK (GB)
Corresponding author
Travis, Ruth C.
ORCID
Venue
International Journal of Cancer
Publisher
Wiley
Published
2007-11-26
Volume
122
Issue
3
Pages
705-710
ISSN
  • 0020-7136 (ISSN-L)
  • 1097-0215
DOI
10.1002/ijc.23141
OpenAlex
W2088583901
Cited by
87
References
1
Citations by year
2025: 4 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 4 · 2019: 2 · 2018: 2 · 2017: 5 · 2016: 5 · 2015: 3 · 2014: 5 · 2013: 10 · 2012: 5
FWCI
6.61
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor (vor)
Locations
  • International Journal of Cancer (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Pathology and Forensic Medicine › Phytoestrogen effects and research
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Nutritional Studies and Diet
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Oncology › Cancer Risks and Factors
Keywords
vegetarian diet, breast cancer risk, soy products, soy milk, meatless diet, premenopausal women, postmenopausal women, British women
MeSH terms
Adult, Breast Neoplasms, England, Female, Humans, Isoflavones, Middle Aged, Prospective Studies, Surveys and Questionnaires, Risk Factors, Diet, Vegetarian, Postmenopause

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