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Soy / Isoflavone Intake and Markers for Breast Cancer Risk

Marilyn Tseng, Ph.D. - Principal Investigator
Mary B. Daly, M.D., Ph.D. - Co-Investigator
Eleftherios P. Diamandis, M.D., Ph.D., F.R.C.P.C. - Co-Investigator
Joanne Dorgan, Ph.D. - Co-Investigator
Hormoz Ehya, M.D. - Co-Investigator
Mindy Kurzer, Ph.D. - Co-Investigator
Agnes Masny, R.N., M.P.H., M.S.N. - Co-Investigator
Eric Ross, Ph.D. - Biostatistician
Etyia Faison - Data Coordinator

Research on potential cancer-protective effects of soy and isoflavones, compounds found in soy, has led to an increase in the availability and consumption of soy products in the US. Yet conflicting scientific evidence raises the concern that high intake might actually increase breast cancer risk. Whether current dietary levels of soy and soy isoflavone intake affect breast cancer risk and in what direction are simply unknown.

The objectives of the proposed study are:

to assess levels of intake of soy and soy isoflavones in a sample of women at high risk for breast cancer
to evaluate different methods of measuring soy intake in the diet
to examine associations between soy/isoflavone intake and markers related to risk of breast cancer obtained from urine and from nipple aspirate fluid (NAF), fluid taken from the breast by applying suction to the nipple.

Who is invited to participate?

The study will include women enrolled in the Family Risk Assessment Program (FRAP) at the Fox Chase Cancer Center. About 900 women aged 30-50 years are being asked to complete a questionnaire on their intake of soy foods and other foods containing isoflavones, which are compounds commonly found in soy. A subset of 50 women will be recruited to provide a nipple aspirate fluid specimen and four 24-hour urine specimens over a one-month period.

Why is this study important?

Soy foods are more and more common in supermarkets. But we do not know how common soy foods are in women’s diets, or how they might affect a woman's risk for breast cancer. Measuring the amount of soy in the diet is also difficult. As a result, we lack basic knowledge about the extent of soy intake in the US – knowledge that we need in order to understand soy’s possible effects on breast health.

Findings from this research will contribute information towards the usefulness of soy as a means of reducing risk of breast cancer, a disease for which few preventive measures are available.

For more information about this study, contact Etyia Faison at 215-728-4079, or email em_faison@fccc.edu.

This work is funded by grants from the Cancer Research Foundation of American and the National Cancer Institute.

Last updated August 1, 2002.