A team of researchers from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine has determined that a long-term vegetarian diet may significantly lower a woman's risk of breast cancer.

Writing in the International Journal of Cancer, the researchers, led by Dr. Isabel dos Santos Silva, conducted a population-based case-control study among South Asian migrant women from the Indian subcontinent who were residing in England. A total of 240 South Asian women with breast cancer were identified from two cancer registries from 1995-1999. For each case, two age-matched South Asian women without breast cancer were randomly selected as controls.

The researchers found that lifelong vegetarians had a slight reduction, although not statistically significant, in the odds of breast cancer relative to lifelong meat-eaters, which persisted after they adjusted for socio-demographic and reproductive variables. However, the researchers noticed that within the vegetarian group, women in the highest 25% of vegetable and fiber consumption were significantly less likely to be diagnosed with breast cancer than their less diligent vegetarian peers.

They found no clear association between meat consumption and breast cancer.

"These findings suggest that lifelong vegetarianism may be associated with a reduction in the risk of breast cancer through its association with a higher intake of vegetables and pulses [legumes]," they concluded. "Although it is not possible to exclude the possibility that lifelong meat abstention may also play a role, the findings provide evidence that a diet rich in vegetables and pulses, such as those typically found in South Asian diets, may be protective against this cancer."

SOURCE:
International Journal of Cancer, May 2002; 99:238-244