K. Katsouyanni et al., THE ASSOCIATION OF FAT AND OTHER MACRONUTRIENTS WITH BREAST-CANCER - A CASE-CONTROL STUDY FROM GREECE, British Journal of Cancer, 70(3), 1994, pp. 537-541
The Greek diet is characterized by a high total fat but low saturated
fat intake. In a hospital-based case-control study of female breast ca
ncer conducted in Athens (1989-91), 820 patients with confirmed cancer
of the breast were compared with 795 orthopaedic patient controls and
753 hospital visitor controls, matched to the cases by age and interv
iewer. Diet was ascertained through a semiquantitative food frequency
questionnaire; macronutrient intakes were estimated from the nutrient
content of a selected typical portion size for each specified food ite
m, summed for all items. Logistic regression was used to analyse the d
ata, controlling for demographic and reproductive risk factors far bre
ast cancer as well as for total energy intake and mutual confounding i
nfluences among nutrients. There was no significant or suggestive asso
ciation of total protein, total fat, categories of fat or total carboh
ydrates with breast cancer risk. Thus, the mutually adjusted relative
risk per quintile and (in parenthesis) 95% confidence interval were: f
or protein, 1.06 (0.94-1.20); saturated fat, 0.99 (0.89-1.11); monouns
aturated fat, 0.97 (0.88-1.07), polyunsaturated fat, 1.05 (0.97-1.13);
and total carbohydrates, 1.03 (0.94-1.12). In alternative analytical
approaches only total protein appeared to be positively associated to
the occurrence of breast cancer with some consistency, but the results
were far from statistically significant. These findings do not suppor
t a role for fat or other energy-generating nutrients in the aetiology
of breast cancer.