Diet and breast cancer risk in a cohort of Finnish women

The associations between dietary antioxidant vitamins, dietary fiber, and selected foods and risk of breast cancer were studied in 4697 initially cancer-free women, aged 15 years or older. At baseline (1967-1972) the women were interviewed for total habitual diet over the preceding year. During a 25-year follow-up period 88 breast cancer cases were diagnosed. There was a significant inverse gradient between milk consumption and occurrence of breast cancer, whereas higher consumption of fried meat was associated with increased risk of breast cancer. No significant relationships were found between the intakes of vitamin E, vitamin C, beta-carotene, lycopene, lutein or dietary fiber and the occurrence of breast cancer. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd.