Can fibre prevent breast cancer?
Tags: breast Cancer, continuous update project, diet, fibre
Fibre can protect against cancer
This week scientists funded by World Cancer Research Fund/American Institute for Cancer Research (WCRF/AICR) found that eating ten grams of fibre daily lowers women’s risk of breast cancer by five per cent.
And as the effect is cumulative, eating 20 grams would mean a ten per cent lower risk and so on.
The research – part of WCRF/AICR’s Continuous Update Project (CUP) – is one of the largest analyses of literature relating to breast cancer and fibre and was published in the Annals of Oncology this week.
The CUP is the ongoing review of cancer prevention research carried out for WCRF/AICR by independent scientists at Imperial College, London.
In this analysis they looked at 16 relevant population studies focusing on breast cancer and dietary fibre intake. Previous examination of the available research had found too little evidence to make any conclusion.
There are several possible explanations as to how dietary fibre may prevent breast cancer, such as reducing the amount of circulating estrogen. Fibre may also help with weight control, a known risk factor for postmenopausal breast cancer.
Last May, the latest CUP report concluded that there is convincing evidence that fibre protects against bowel cancer.
The new data on fibre and breast cancer will be reviewed by a panel of experts later this year to assess it against other evidence and decide how, if at all, if affects WCRF/AICR’s current recommendations for cancer prevention.
