More Evidence – Soy Guards Against Breast Cancer
LONDON - Women eating a diet
rich in soya products are 60% less
likely to have “high-risk” breast tissue
than women with the least soya in
their diet, scientists said on Saturday.
“Our findings considerably
strengthen the hypothesis that soy
consumption protects against breast
cancer development,” said researchers
at the National University of Singapore,
Cancer Research UK and the
US National Cancer Institute. Scientists
have previously suggested that
soya intake might contribute to the
low rates of breast cancer in countries
like China and Japan but research has
proved inconclusive.
The latest research—reported in
the journal Cancer Epidemiology,
Biomarkers and Prevention—combined
data from two studies of Chinese
women in Singapore. The first
study focused on women’s eating
habits, including their intake of soya,
while the second used mammograms
to classify women according to the
density of their breast tissue. After
identifying 406 women who took part
in both studies and adjusting for energy
intake and other potential confounding
factors, the scientists found
that soy protein intake was inversely
related to high-risk tissue.
Other research has shown that
dense tissue is associated with an increased
risk of breast cancer. “This research
shows for the first time how
the amount of soya a woman eats may
have an effect on breast tissue and in
turn may potentially reduce her risk
of breast cancer,” Dr. Stephen Duffy
of Cancer Research UK said in a
statement. Soy is a rich source of
plant oestrogens, which are known to
protect against breast cancer in animals.
(Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and
Prevention 2002;11 — Reuters 8 July 2002)
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