This summary table contains detailed information about research studies. Summary tables offer an informative look at the science behind many breast cancer guidelines and recommendations. However, they should be viewed with some caution. In order to read and interpret research tables successfully, it is important to understand some key concepts. Learn how to read a research table.
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Introduction: Eating a high-fat diet in adulthood appears to have little, if any, impact on the risk of breast cancer. The randomized controlled trials, large cohort studies, pooled analyses and meta-analyses done to date do not show a link between eating a diet high in total fat and breast cancer risk.
Although total fat does not appear to increase breast cancer risk, the type of fat in the diet may be important. This topic is under study.
Eating a high-fat diet during adolescence may also play a role in breast cancer. Findings from the Nurses Health Study II showed women who ate a diet high in total fat during adolescence had a moderate increase in premenopausal breast cancer risk compared to women who at a diet low in total fat during adolescence [1].
Learn about 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, pooled analyses and meta-analyses with at least 500 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 trials
|
Women's Health Initiative [2]
|
48,835
(1,727 cases)
|
8.1
|
0.91
(0.83-1.01)
|
|
|
Prospective cohort studies
|
EPIC Nutrition and Cancer Study [3]
|
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 [4,5]
|
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 [6]
|
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 [7]
|
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 [8]
|
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 [9]
|
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 [10]
|
56,837
(519 cases)
|
5
|
1.30
(0.90-1.88)
|
1.08
(0.73-1.59)
|
1.23
(0.81-1.89) |
Pooled and meta-analyses
|
Boyd et al. [11]
|
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. [12]
|
351,821
(7,329 cases)
|
|
1.00
(0.98-1.03)
|
1.09
(1.00-1.19)
|
0.93
(0.84-1.03)
|
Alexander et al. [13]
|
8 studies
|
|
1.11
(0.91-1.36)§
|
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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
- Linos E, Willett WC, Cho E, Frazier L. Adolescent diet in relation to breast cancer risk among premenopausal women. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 19(3):689-96, 2010.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Cho E, Spiegelman D, Hunter DJ, et al. Premenopausal fat intake and risk of breast cancer. J Natl Cancer Inst. 95: 1079-85, 2003.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Alexander DD, Morimoto LM, Mink PJ, Lowe KA. Summary and meta-analysis of prospective studies of animal fat intake and breast cancer. Nutr Res Rev. 23(1):169-79, 2010.
Updated 07/07/11
