Protective vegetal micronutriments and microcomponents for breast cancer

This review is a summary of three reference books and of the final report o f a European concerted action. The data have been updated by an analysis of recent publications, according to the same methodological criteria as thos e used in the reference books: sample size, quality of questionnaire and st atistical methods. Mechanistic hypothesis are considered far each microcomp ounds, the effect of which is situated along the natural history of cancer. Few studies have considered folates effect on breast cancer, and they obse rved an interaction with the risk related to alcohol consumption, which is decreased with a high intake of folates. Many studies considered the effect of vitamin C and E, and carotenoids, but results are inconsistent. Conflic ting results were also observed in studies an fibre and breast cancer. Howe ver; although only half of the studies showed a protective effect, the stre ngth of the biological mechanisms give support to the hypothesis of a prote ction provided by fibre. The situation is comparable with phyto-estrogens: epidemiological studies are scarce and few of them show significant protect ion, but several plausible biological mechanisms are proposed, either relat ed to the negative modulation of estrogen receptor by phyto-estrogen, or to the inhibition of proliferation by action on various enzymes. At the prese nt time, caution in the interpretation of the results and in the use of pla nt microcompounds in prevention or therapy is strongly recommended.