[...] ... women in the early stages of breast cancer who ate substantially more than five servings a day of fruit and vegetables did not have an advantage over their counterparts who followed the five-a-day plan when it came to progression of the disease:

The aim of the study, which was carried out at the University of California, San Diego, was to determine whether a diet very high in veggies, fruit and fiber and low in fat would lower three types of risk among women who had been treated for early stage breast cancer:

• risk of recurrence
• risk of new primary breast cancer
• risk of death from all causes

John P. Pierce, PhD, of UCSD and colleagues conducted the randomized controlled trial with 3,088 women between 18 and 70 years old who were previously treated for early stage breast cancer.

About half the women participated in a program that included phone counseling, cooking classes and newsletters that advocated daily targets of five vegetable servings plus 16 oz. of vegetable juice; three servings of fruit; 30 grams of fiber; and 15 percent to 20 percent of energy intake from fat. The other half received printed information describing the "five a day" diet.

During the four-year span of the study, the group that received the extra intervention ate 65 percent more vegetables, 25 percent more fruit, 30 percent more fiber and 13 percent less fat than the comparison group.

Both groups of women received similar clinical care.

Breast cancer events occurred in 518 study participants during the study period -- 256 in the intervention group and 262 in the comparison group. Deaths numbered 315, with 155 occurring in the intervention group and 160 in the comparison group.

The results suggested no significant advantage in preventing the recurrence of breast cancer based on demographics, earlier dietary patterns, type of tumor or type of treatment.

Researchers followed the women in the study group for 7.3 years and found no evidence that the low-fat diet extra high in fruit, vegetables and fiber was any more helpful in preventing cancer recurrence or death than the five-a-day diet.

While the U of C, San Diego, study found that adding more produce to one's diet may not offer a corresponding benefit, Harvard researchers Linos and Willett have reported in the Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network that although the association between diet and breast cancer risk has been investigated extensively, there are some recommendations for prevention. Research suggests that maintaining a healthy weight may reduce the risk for breast cancer after menopause. Additionally, alcohol increases the risk for breast cancer even at moderate levels of intake, and women who drink alcohol also should take sufficient folate, which can mitigate this excess risk. Interesting questions for future research include the role of soy products, red meat, energy balance, and vitamin D, with particular attention to timing of exposure in early life. Linos and Willett point out that breast cancer is a heterogeneous disease, and dietary factors may differentially affect certain breast cancer subtypes, and that future studies should therefore attempt to characterize associations according to tumor characteristics.

Suggested reading.

HT: DNC

Cross posted from New Hope Blog