Association of Mediterranean diet with survival after breast cancer diagnosis in women from nine European countries: results from the EPIC cohort study.

BACKGROUND: The Mediterranean diet has been associated with lower risk of breast cancer (BC) but evidence from prospective studies on the role of Mediterranean diet on BC survival remains sparse and conflicting. We aimed to investigate whether adherence to Mediterranean diet prior to diagnosis is associated with overall and BC-specific mortality. METHODS: A total of 13,270 incident breast cancer cases were identified from an initial sample of 318,686 women in 9 countries from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study. Adherence to Mediterranean diet was estimated through the adapted relative Mediterranean diet (arMED), a 16-point score that includes 8 key components of the Mediterranean diet and excludes alcohol. The degree of adherence to arMED was classified as low (score 0-5), medium (score 6-8), and high (score 9-16). Multivariable Cox proportional hazards models were used to analyze the association between the arMED score and overall mortality, and Fine-Gray competing risks models were applied for BC-specific mortality. RESULTS: After a mean follow-up of 8.6 years from diagnosis, 2340 women died, including 1475 from breast cancer. Among all BC survivors, low compared to medium adherence to arMED score was associated with a 13% higher risk of all-cause mortality (HR 1.13, 95%CI 1.01-1.26). High compared to medium adherence to arMED showed a non-statistically significant association (HR 0.94; 95% CI 0.84-1.05). With no statistically significant departures from linearity, on a continuous scale, a 3-unit increase in the arMED score was associated with an 8% reduced risk of overall mortality (HR3-unit 0.92, 95% CI: 0.87-0.97). This result sustained when restricted to postmenopausal women and was stronger among metastatic BC cases (HR3-unit 0.81, 95% CI: 0.72-0.91). CONCLUSIONS: Consuming a Mediterranean diet before BC diagnosis may improve long-term prognosis, particularly after menopause and in cases of metastatic breast cancer. Well-designed dietary interventions are needed to confirm these findings and define specific dietary recommendations.

Associations between overall, healthful, and unhealthful low-fat dietary patterns and breast cancer risk in a Mediterranean cohort: The SUN project.

OBJECTIVES: Dietary patterns may have a greater influence on human health than individual foods or nutrients, and they are also of substantial interest in the field of breast cancer prevention. Beyond the adequate balance of macronutrients, evidence indicates that the quality of macronutrient sources may play an important role in health outcomes. We sought to examine the relationship between healthful and unhealthful low-fat dietary patterns in relation to breast cancer. METHODS: We used observational data from a Mediterranean cohort study (the Seguimiento Universidad de Navarra project). We prospectively followed 10 930 middle-aged women initially free of breast cancer during a median follow-up of 12.1 y. We calculated an overall, an unhealthful, and a healthful low-fat diet score, based on a previously validated 136-item food frequency questionnaire and grouped participants into tertiles. Incident breast cancer-overall and stratified by menopausal status-was the primary outcome. It was self-reported by participants and confirmed based on medical reports or consultation of the National Death Index. We used multivariable Cox regression models adjusted for potential confounders. RESULTS: During 123 297 person-years of follow-up, 150 cases of incident breast cancer were confirmed. No significant associations were observed for overall or premenopausal breast cancer. For postmenopausal women, we observed a significant association for moderate adherence to the unhealthful low-fat dietary score and postmenopausal breast cancer (comparing tertile 2 to tertile 1; hazard ratio = 2.18; 95% confidence interval, 1.15-4.13). CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, no clear associations were observed, although more research is needed to address the association between an unhealthful dietary pattern and postmenopausal breast cancer risk.

Eating behaviors and health-related quality of life: A scoping review.

Discrepancies between total life expectancy and healthy life expectancy are in part due to unhealthy lifestyles, in which diet plays an important role. Despite this knowledge, observational studies and randomized trials have yet to show consistent improvements in health and well-being, also known as health-related quality of life (HRQoL), given the variety of elements that conform a healthy diet aside from its content. As such, we aimed to describe the evidence and common topics concerning the effects of modifiable eating behaviors and HRQoL in patients with non-communicable diseases (NCD). This scoping review of six electronic databases included 174 reports (69 % were experimental studies, 10 % longitudinal studies, and 21 % cross-sectional studies). Using VOSviewer, a bibliometric tool with text mining functionalities, we identified relevant aspects of dietary assessments and interventions. Commonly observed topics in experimental studies were those related to diet quality (micro- and macronutrients, food items, and dietary patterns). In contrast, less was found regarding eating schedules, eating locations, culturally accepted food items, and the role of food insecurity in HRQoL. Disregarding these aspects of diets may be limiting the full potential of nutrition as a key element of health and well-being in order to ensure lengthy and fulfilling lives.

Dietary Antioxidant Vitamins and Minerals and Breast Cancer Risk: Prospective Results from the SUN Cohort.

There is growing interest in natural antioxidants and their potential effects on breast cancer (BC). Epidemiological evidence, however, is inconsistent. We prospectively evaluated the association between dietary intake of vitamins A, C, and E, selenium, and zinc and BC among 9983 female participants from the SUN Project, a Mediterranean cohort of university graduates. Participants completed a food frequency questionnaire at baseline, and biennial follow-up information about incident BC diagnosis was collected. Cases were ascertained through revision of medical charts and consultation of the National Death Index. Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate multivariable-adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). During an average follow-up of 11.3 years, 107 incident BC cases were confirmed. The multivariable HRs (95% CI) for BC comparing extreme tertiles of energy-adjusted dietary intakes were 1.07 (0.64-1.77; Ptrend = 0.673) for vitamin A, 1.00 (0.58-1.71; Ptrend = 0.846) for vitamin C, 0.92 (0.55-1.54; Ptrend = 0.728) for vitamin E, 1.37 (0.85-2.20; Ptrend = 0.135) for selenium, and 1.01 (0.61-1.69; Ptrend = 0.939) for zinc. Stratified analyses showed an inverse association between vitamin E intake and postmenopausal BC (HRT3 vs. T1 = 0.35; 95% CI, 0.14-0.86; Ptrend = 0.027). Our results did not suggest significant protective associations between dietary vitamins A, C, and E, selenium, or zinc and BC risk.

Dairy Consumption and Incidence of Breast Cancer in the 'Seguimiento Universidad de Navarra' (SUN) Project.

Dairy products might influence breast cancer (BC) risk. However, evidence is inconsistent. We sought to examine the association between dairy product consumption-and their subtypes-and incident BC in a Mediterranean cohort. The SUN ("Seguimiento Universidad de Navarra") Project is a Spanish dynamic ongoing cohort of university graduates. Dairy product consumption was estimated through a previously validated 136-item food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). Incident BC was reported in biennial follow-up questionnaires and confirmed with revision of medical records and consultation of the National Death Index. Hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were estimated with Cox regression models. Among 123,297 women-years of follow-up (10,930 women, median follow-up 12.1 years), we confirmed 119 incident BC cases. We found a nonlinear association between total dairy product consumption and BC incidence (pnonlinear = 0.048) and a significant inverse association for women with moderate total dairy product consumption (HRQ2vs.Q1 = 0.49 (95% CI 0.28-0.84); HRQ3vs.Q1 = 0.49 (95% CI 0.29-0.84) ptrend = 0.623) and with moderate low-fat dairy product consumption (HRQ2vs.Q1 = 0.58 (95% CI 0.35-0.97); HRQ3vs.Q1 = 0.55 (95% CI 0.32-0.92), ptrend = 0.136). In stratified analyses, we found a significant inverse association between intermediate low-fat dairy product consumption and premenopausal BC and between medium total dairy product consumption and postmenopausal BC. Thus, dairy products, especially low-fat dairy products, may be considered within overall prudent dietary patterns.

Adherence to the 2018 World Cancer Research Fund/American Institute for Cancer Research Recommendations and Breast Cancer in the SUN Project.

A proportion of breast cancer cases are attributable to combined modifiable risk factors. The World Cancer Research Fund/American Institute for Cancer Research (WCRF/AICR) has recently updated the recommendations for cancer prevention and a standard scoring system has been published. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between compliance with the 2018 WCRF/AICR cancer prevention recommendations (Third Expert Report) and the risk of breast cancer in the SUN ("Seguimiento Universidad de Navarra") prospective cohort. Spanish female university graduates, initially free of breast cancer, were included (n = 10,930). An 8-item score to measure compliance to the recommendations was built: body fat, physical activity, consumption of wholegrains/vegetables/fruit/beans, "fast foods", red/processed meat consumption, sugar-sweetened drinks consumption, alcohol intake, and breastfeeding. A stratified analysis was conducted according to menopausal status. A non-significant inverse association was observed for overall breast cancer. The inverse association became statistically significant for post-menopausal breast cancer after multivariable adjustment (hazard ratio for > 5 vs. ≤ 3 points = 0.27; 95% CI: 0.08-0.93). The results suggested that the possible inverse association with breast cancer was attributable to the combined effects of the different nutritional and lifestyle components.