This summary table contains detailed information about research studies. While viewing summary tables offers an informative glimpse at the science behind many breast cancer guidelines and recommendations, they should be viewed with some caution. There are a number of concepts you must understand to be able to successfully read and interpret research tables. To get some background information about understanding research tables, please see How to Read a Research Table.
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Introduction: Eating a diet high in total fat as an adult appears to have little, if any, impact on the risk of breast cancer. The randomized controlled trial, large cohort studies, and pooled analyses done to date do not show a statistically significant link between eating a diet high in total fat and breast cancer risk. Although eating a diet high in total fat does not appear to be related to breast cancer risk, the type of fat in the diet may be important. At this time, however, the evidence is not conclusive.
Find more information on the strengths and weaknesses of different types of studies.
See how this risk factor compares with other risk factors for breast cancer.
Study selection criteria: Randomized controlled trials, prospective cohort studies and pooled analyses with at least 200 breast cancer cases.
Table note: Relative risk above 1 indicates increased risk. Relative risk below 1 indicates decreased risk.
Study
|
Study Population
(number of participants)
|
Follow-up
(years)
|
Relative Risk of Breast Cancer in Women Who Consume High Amounts of Dietary Fat Compared to Women Who Consume Low Amounts, by Type of Fat,
RR (95% CI)
|
Total Fat
|
Saturated Fat
|
Mono-unsaturated Fat
|
Randomized controlled trial
|
Women's Health Initiative [1]
|
48,835
(1,727 cases)
|
8.1
|
0.91
(0.83-1.01)
|
|
|
Prospective cohort studies
|
| EPIC Nutrition and Cancer Study [2] |
319,826
(7,119 cases)
|
8.8
|
1.02
(0.90-1.17)
|
1.13
(1.00-1.27)
|
1.05
(0.92-1.20)
|
| Nurses' Health Study [3,4] |
80,375*
(3,537 cases)
|
20 |
0.98
(0.95-1.00)†
|
0.93
(0.87-1.00)†
|
0.94
(0.87-1.01)† |
NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study [5]
|
188,736
(3,501 cases)
|
4.4
|
1.11
(1.00-1.24)
|
1.18
(1.06-1.31)
|
1.12
(1.00-1.24)
|
| Swedish Women's Lifestyle and Health Cohort [6] |
49,261
(974 cases)
|
13 |
1.02
(0.72-1.45)
|
1.12
(0.69-1.81) |
0.88
(0.53-1.46)‡
|
Nurses' Health Study II [7]
|
90,655
(714 cases)
|
8
|
1.25
(0.98-1.59)
|
1.33§
(1.02-1.73)
|
1.10
(0.75-1.62)
|
Swedish Mammography Screening Cohort [8]
|
61,471
(674 cases)
|
4.2 |
1.00
(0.76-1.32) |
1.09
(0.83-1.42) |
0.95
(0.72-1.24)
|
| Canadian National Breast Screening Study [9] |
56,837
(519 cases)
|
5 |
1.30
(0.90-1.88) |
1.08
(0.73-1.59)
|
1.23
(0.81-1.89) |
Dutch Health Study [10]
|
62,573*
(471 cases)
|
3.3
|
1.08
(0.73-1.59)
|
1.39
(0.94-2.06)
|
0.75
(0.50-1.12)
|
| Iowa Women's Health Study [11] |
34,388*
(459 cases)
|
3 |
1.38
(0.86-2.21)
|
1.07
(0.68-1.68) |
1.09
(0.70-1.70) |
| New York State Cohort [12] |
18,586*
(359 cases)
|
7 |
0.99
(0.69-1.41)
|
1.12
(0.78-1.61)§ |
NA |
| Malmo Diet and Cancer Cohort-Sweden [13] |
11,726
(342 cases)
|
7.6 |
1.36
(0.96-1.94)
|
NA |
NA |
The Singapore Chinese Health Study [14]
|
35,298
(314 cases)
|
5.3
|
0.94
(0.68-1.31)
|
0.92
(0.67-1.26)
|
1.02
(0.73-1.43)
|
Adventist Health Study [15]
|
20,341
(215 cases)
|
6
|
NA
|
1.21
(0.81-1.81)§
|
NA
|
Pooled and meta-analyses
|
Boyd et al. [16]
|
568,549
(8,735 cases)
|
|
1.11
(0.99-1.25)║
|
1.15
(1.02-1.30)║
|
1.10
(0.83-1.44)║
|
Smith-Warner et al. [17]
|
351,821
(7,329 cases)
|
|
1.00
(0.98-1.03)
|
1.09
(1.00-1.19)
|
0.93
(0.84-1.03)
|
NA=No data presented in original article.
NS=Non-significant relative risk.
* Postmenopausal women only.
† Relative risk per 5% increase in dietary fat intake. When postmenopausal women without a history of benign breast disease were examined separately, results were similar.
‡ Among women over 50, there was some benefit of a diet high in monounsaturated fats. Relative risk was 0.45 (0.25-0.99).
§ Animal fat only.
║ Combined cohort study results only.
References
1. Prentice RL, Chlebowski RT, Patterson R, et al. Low-fat dietary pattern and risk of invasive breast cancer: the Women's Health Initiative Randomized Controlled Dietary Modification Trial. JAMA. 295(6):629-42, 2006.
2. Sieri S, Krogh V, Ferrari P, et al. Dietary fat and breast cancer risk in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition. Am J Clin Nutr. 88(5):1304-12, 2008.
3. Kim EH, Willett WC, Colditz GA, et al. Dietary Fat and Risk of Postmenopausal Breast Cancer in a 20-year Follow-up. Am J Epidemiol. 164(10):990-7, 2006.
4. Byrne C, Rockett H, Holmes MD. Dietary fat, fat subtypes, and breast cancer risk: lack of an association among postmenopausal women with no history of benign breast disease. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 11(3):261-5, 2002.
5. Thiébaut ACM, Kipnis V, Chang SC, et al. Dietary fat and postmenopausal invasive breast cancer in the National Institutes of Health-AARP Diet and Health Study cohort. J Natl Cancer Inst. 99(6):451-62, 2007.
6. Löf M, Sandin S, Lagiou P, et al. Dietary fat and breast cancer risk in the Swedish women's lifestyle and health cohort. Br J Cancer. 97(11):1570-6, 2007.
7. Cho E, Spiegelman D, Hunter DJ, et al. Premenopausal fat intake and risk of breast cancer. J Natl Cancer Inst. 95: 1079-85, 2003.
8. Wolk A, Bergström R, Hunter D, et al. A prospective study of association of monounsaturated fat and other types of fat with risk of breast cancer. Arch Intern Med. 158(1):41-5, 1998.
9. Howe GR, Friedenreich CM, Jain M, Miller AB. A cohort study of fat intake and risk of breast cancer. J Natl Cancer Inst. 83:336-340, 1991.
10. van den Brandt PA, Van’t Veer P, Goldbohm RA,et al. A prospective cohort study on dietary fat and the risk of postmenopausal breast cancer. Cancer Res. 53:75-82, 1993.
11. Kushi LH, Sellers TA, Potter JD, et al. Dietary fat and postmenopausal breast cancer. J Natl Cancer Inst. 84:1092-1099, 1992.
12. Graham S, Zielezny M, Marshall J, et al. Diet in the epidemiology of postmenopausal breast cancer in the New York State Cohort. American Journal of Epidemiology. 136(11):1327-1337, 1992.
13. Mattisson I, Wirfalt E, Wallstrom P, Gullberg B, Olsson H, Berglund G. High fat and alcohol intakes are risk factors of postmenopausal breast cancer: A prospective study from the Malmo diet and cancer cohort. Int J Cancer. 110(4):589-97, 2004.
14. Gago-Dominguez M, Yuan JM, Sun CL, Lee HP, Yu MC. Opposing effects of dietary n-3 and n-6 fatty acids on mammary carcinogenesis: The Singapore Chinese Health Study. Br J Cancer. 89(9):1686-92, 2003.
15. Mills PK, Beeson WL, Phillips RL, Fraser GE. Dietary habits and breast cancer incidence among Seventh-day Adventists. Cancer. 64:582-590, 1989.
16. Boyd NF, Stone J, Vogt KN, Connelly BS, Martin LJ, Minkin S. Dietary fat and breast cancer risk revisited: a meta-analysis of the published literature. Br J Cancer. 89(9):1672-85, 2003.
17. Smith-Warner SA, Speigelman D, Adami HO, et al. Types of dietary fat and breast cancer: a pooled analysis of cohort studies. Int J Cancer. 92:767-774, 2001.
Updated 09/12/09
