Breast Cancer and Dietary Intakes of Folate and B Vitamins in African American and European American Women

Keywords: BREAST CANCER – Folate, Vitamin B6, Vitamin B12, Methionine

Reference: “Associations of dietary folate, vitamin B6, B12 and methionine intake with risk of breast cancer among African American (AA) and European American (EA) women,” Gong Z, Ambrosone CB, et al, Int J Cancer, 2013 Aug 30; [Epub ahead of print]. (Address: Department of Cancer Prevention & Control, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo, NY).

Summary: In a study involving 1,582 African American women (out of which 749 had breast cancer) and 1,434 European American women (out of which 744 had breast cancer), in African American women, inverse associations were found for natural food folate intake among premenopausal women (4th vs 1st quartile: OR=1.53) and for estrogen receptor positive tumors (4th vs 1st quartiles: OR=0.58), and in European American women, a positive association was found between intake of synthetic folate (4th vs 1st quartile: OR=1.53). The authors conclude, “Our findings suggest that natural food folate intake is inversely associated with breast cancer risk and that this association may vary by race, menopausal or ER status. The finding of an increased risk observed among EA women with the highest intake of synthetic folate from fortified foods warrants further investigation.”