Cancer represents the second leading cause of death after cardiovascular diseases. In 2023, data shows that 18.5 million cases were diagnosed and that 10.4 million deaths were caused by this disease. Specifically, breast cancer represents 11.6% of all cases, and it constitutes the leading cause of cancer-related death among women.
Numerous studies have confirmed that hormonal factors such as menopause and estrogen levels, as well as metabolic factors, such as insulin-like growth factor 1 or body composition, influence breast cancer. Specialists point out that lifestyle, particularly diet, can modulate many of these determining factors and, therefore, plays an important role in prevention.
A study with the participation of the University of La Laguna reveals that healthy plant-based diets, rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, and legumes, reduce the risk of breast cancer by up to 39%, according to a meta-analysis of nine studies carried out by a team of researchers from the universities of Granada, Espíritu Santo of Ecuador, Autónoma de Chile, Francisco de Vitoria, and the University of La Laguna, grouping more than 3,000 participating women.
The article, Breast Cancer risk and mortality and adherence to Plant-based diets: A systematic review and meta-analysis, published in the journal Nutrition Reviews and in which Paula Marrero-Fernández, a predoctoral student at the ULL, participates, evaluates the adherence and quality of plant-based diets.
To do this, the group of researchers has used three pre-existing validated indices that were taken into account in the study. These indices are used to assess the degree of adherence to plant-based diets (PDI, for its acronym in English), to healthy plant-based diets (hPDI), and unhealthy plant-based diets (uPDI).
The PDI captures general adherence to a plant-based diet, the hPDI emphasizes a higher intake of whole and minimally processed plant foods, and the uPDI reflects diets rich in refined grains, sugary drinks, and other less healthy plant foods.
The importance of the distinction between plant-based diets
According to the study, distinguishing between healthy and unhealthy plant-based diets is relevant because not all plant-based diets confer the same health effects, and diet quality can substantially influence cancer risk. Researchers highlight that higher scores on the PDI and hPDI have been associated with a lower risk of several types of cancer, including lung, prostate, breast, and digestive cancers.
This study represents the first comprehensive meta-analysis examining the relationship between plant-based diets, evaluated using the three indicators, and the risk of breast cancer. The results show that general adherence to a plant-based diet does not have a significant relationship with the risk of this type of cancer. However, when considering dietary quality, a healthy plant-based diet, characterized by higher consumption of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, and legumes, is linked, according to researchers, with a lower risk of this disease.
On the contrary, greater adherence to an unhealthy plant-based diet, characterized by increased consumption of sugary drinks, potato-derived products, sweets, desserts, and refined grains, is associated with a higher risk of breast cancer. Therefore, this study highlights the potential role of a healthy plant-based diet in the prevention of this type of cancer.
According to the research, unlike animal-based foods, whole plant foods provide dietary fiber, folate (vitamin B9), and phytochemicals with recognized anticancer properties, and also have a low or insignificant content of saturated fats, cholesterol, and cancer-promoting compounds. On the other hand, in breast cancer patients, the adoption of a whole plant-based diet has been associated with lower testosterone levels and higher concentrations of sex hormone-binding globulin, indicating improved insulin sensitivity, as well as a reduction in tumor markers. Furthermore, increased consumption of fiber-rich plant foods, especially whole grains and legumes, reduces circulating estrogen levels by promoting their fecal excretion, which contributes to the prevention of this disease.
This research suggests that adherence to a healthy plant-based diet is associated with a lower risk of breast cancer. However, researchers emphasize that cohort and intervention studies are needed to evaluate the impact of plant-based diets on breast cancer prognosis and survival.
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