THE ASSOCIATION OF FAT AND OTHER MACRONUTRIENTS WITH BREAST-CANCER - A CASE-CONTROL STUDY FROM GREECE

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.