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Cited by 75Phytoestrogen effects and researchEstrogen and related hormone effectsPhytochemicals and Antioxidant Activities

Dietary phytoestrogens are not associated with risk of overall breast cancer but diets rich in coumestrol are inversely associated with risk of estrogen receptor and progesterone receptor negative breast tumors in Swedish women

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Hedelin, Maria, Löf, Marie, Olsson, Marita, Adlercreutz, Herman, Sandin, Sven, Weiderpass, Elisabete·2008·The Journal of Nutrition
DOI 10.1093/jn/138.5.938
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Abstract

Results from epidemiological and experimental studies indicate that phytoestrogens may protect against breast cancer. Because one of the biological effects of phytoestrogens is probably estrogenic, it's possible that the preventive effect on breast cancer differs by estrogen receptor (ER) or progesterone receptor (PR) status of the tumor. We evaluated the associations between dietary phytoestrogen (isoflavonoids, lignans, and coumestrol) intake and risk of breast cancer and whether the ER/PR statuses of the tumor influence this relationship. In 1991-2 a prospective population-based cohort study among Swedish pre- and postmenopausal women was performed, making questionnaire data available for 45,448 women. A total of 1014 invasive breast cancers were diagnosed until December 2004. Cox proportional hazards models were performed to estimate multivariate risk ratios, 95% CI for associations with risk of breast cancer. Intakes of lignan, isoflavonoid, or coumestrol were not associated with breast cancer risk overall or before or after 50 y of age. The effects of lignans or isoflavonoids were independent of receptor status. However, intake of coumestrol was associated with decreased risk of receptor negative tumors (ER-PR-) but not positive tumors. The risk of ER-PR- tumors was significantly lower (50%) in women with intermediate coumestrol intake compared with those who did not consume any. In conclusion, we found no association between intake of isoflavonoids or lignans and breast cancer risk. Our results of a decreased risk of ER-PR- tumors in women with intermediate intake of coumestrol could be due to chance because of the low intake. The results should be confirmed in other studies.

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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 [104]

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Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Hedelin, M., Löf, M., Olsson, M., Adlercreutz, H., Sandin, S., & Weiderpass, E.
Affiliations
  • Karolinska Institutet (SE)
  • University of Helsinki (FI)
Corresponding author
Hedelin, Maria
ORCID
Venue
The Journal of Nutrition
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2008-05
Volume
138
Issue
5
Pages
938-945
ISSN
0022-3166 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1093/jn/138.5.938
OpenAlex
W2162190866
Cited by
75
References
0
Citations by year
2026: 2 · 2024: 1 · 2023: 1 · 2022: 3 · 2021: 1 · 2020: 3 · 2019: 4 · 2018: 4 · 2017: 3 · 2016: 2 · 2015: 1 · 2014: 6 · 2013: 10 · 2012: 12
FWCI
4.98
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Journal of Nutrition (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Chalmers Publication Library (Chalmers University of Technology) (submittedVersion)
  • Chalmers Research (Chalmers University of Technology) (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • Swedish Foundation for International Cooperation in Research and Higher Education
  • Cancerfonden
  • Vetenskapsrådet
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Pathology and Forensic Medicine › Phytoestrogen effects and research
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Estrogen and related hormone effects
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Biochemistry › Phytochemicals and Antioxidant Activities
Keywords
dietary phytoestrogens, breast cancer risk, coumestrol, isoflavonoids, lignans, estrogen receptor-negative tumors, hormone receptor status, chemoprevention
MeSH terms
Adult, Breast Neoplasms, Coumestrol, Diet, Dietary Fiber, Female, Flavonoids, Humans, Middle Aged, Prospective Studies, Surveys and Questionnaires, Receptors, Estrogen, Receptors, Progesterone, Risk Factors, Sweden, Cohort Studies, Lignans, Phytoestrogens

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