PHILADELPHIA, July 10 (UPI) -- The more "Western" the diet -- red meat, starches and sweets -- the greater breast cancer risk among postmenopausal Chinese women, a study found.
A team of researchers at the Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia, Harvard University in Boston, Shanghai Cancer Institute in China and Vanderbilt University in Nashville identified dietary habits among women in the study based on their reported eating habits, classifying them as either "meat-sweet" -- pork, poultry, organ meats, beef, lamb, shrimp, saltwater fish, shellfish, as well as candy, dessert, bread and milk -- or "vegetable-soy" -- vegetables, soy-based products and freshwater fish.
"The Shanghai data gave us a unique look at a population of Chinese women who were beginning to adopt more Western-style eating habits," Marilyn Tseng, of Fox Chase, said in a statement. "We found an association between a Western-style diet and breast cancer was pronounced in postmenopausal women, especially heavier women with estrogen receptor-positive tumors."
Of 1,602 breast cancer cases identified during the study period, the meat-sweet pattern was significantly associated with increased risk of breast cancer among overweight postmenopausal women, according to the study published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention.
