Higher Folate Intake Associated With Reduced Risk of Hormone Receptor–Negative Breast Cancer in Premenopausal Women
In an analysis from the European Prospective Investigation Into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) reported in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, de Batlle and colleagues found reduced risks of estrogen receptor–negative and progesterone receptor–negative breast cancer for highest vs lowest dietary folate intake among premenopausal women.
The study involved EPIC data from 367,993 women aged 35 to 70 years in 10 European countries. During median follow-up of 11.5 years, 11,575 women developed breast cancer. Folate intake was estimated from country-specific questionnaires.
Reduced Risk
Women in the highest quintile of folate intake had a borderline significant reduction in risk of breast cancer overall vs women in the lowest quintile (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.92, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.83–1.01, P = .037 for trend). Premenopausal women in the highest vs lowest quintile had significantly reduced risks for estrogen receptor–negative breast cancer (HR = 0.66, 95% CI = 0.45–0.96, P = .042 for trend) and progesterone receptor–negative breast cancer (HR = 0.70, 95% CI = 0.51–0.97, P = .021 for trend). No significant associations between folate intake and breast cancer risk were found in postmenopausal women.
Among women with high alcohol intake (> 12 alcoholic drinks/week), those in the highest vs lowest folate intake tertile had a significantly reduced overall risk of breast cancer (HR = 0.86, 95% CI = 0.75–0.98, P = .035 for interaction).
The investigators concluded: “Higher dietary folate intake may be associated with a lower risk of sex hormone receptor–negative breast cancer in premenopausal women.”
Jordi de Batlle, PhD, of the International Agency for Research on Cancer, Lyon, is the corresponding author for the Journal of the National Cancer Institute article.
The study was supported by the International Agency for Research on Cancer and European Commission FP7 Marie Curie Actions-People-Cofunding of regional, national, and international programs (COFUND). The study authors reported no potential conflicts of interest.
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