Hot Flashes May Help Guide Breast Cancer Risk Reduction

Last Updated: 2009-08-26 18:54:54 -0400 (Reuters Health)

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Results of a study provide some indication that the presence of vasomotor symptoms may help in identifying women whose risk of invasive breast cancer is reduced by adoption of a low-fat diet.

"These findings," lead investigator Dr. Bette Caan told Reuters Health, "suggest that an easily obtainable clinical indicator such as the presence of hot flashes may be a useful tool for determining who may benefit from dietary recommendations for prevention of breast cancer."

Dr. Caan of Kaiser Permanente in Oakland, California, and colleagues came to this conclusion after studying data on almost 49,000 postmenopausal women taking part in a diet modification trial. Forty percent were randomized to a low-fat diet.

The study ran from 1993 to 1998 and the participants were queried semi-annually about a new diagnosis of breast cancer.

About 7%, or 3,375, reported hot flashes at baseline, the researchers report in a paper posted online August 17 in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

Women with hot flashes who were assigned to the low-fat diet had a 35% risk reduction in breast cancer incidence compared to a 7% reduction in women who did not have hot flashes.

"The data suggest that women who are experiencing hot flashes or vasomotor symptoms may be more likely to reduce their risk of breast cancer by adopting a low-fat eating pattern," the study team reports.

Although the difference was not significant and was restricted to those with estrogen receptor-positive/progesterone receptor-positive tumors, the results, say the investigators, "are intriguing and warrant further investigation."

However, Dr. Caan stressed that "until we demonstrate this finding in other study populations, it is premature to use in a clinical setting."

Source:

J Clin Oncol 2009.


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