The importance of dietary intake in the etiology and prevention of common cancers such as breast or prostate cancer remains unclear. The primary objective of this research program is to examine the association of dietary measures with breast and prostate cancer risk. Using a dietary pattern approach instead of focusing on specific components of the diet, we found suggestive evidence for an association between dietary intake and breast cancer risk in US women. Results using a dietary pattern approach were still more convincing in a population in transition – Chinese women in Shanghai, China. In these women, we observed a clear elevation in postmenopausal breast cancer risk with higher intake of foods indicative of a western diet – meats, sweets, and milk. To further investigate dietary and other lifestyle factors in relation to breast cancer risk, we initiated studies within another population in transition – foreign-born Chinese women in the US. In this sample, we noted substantial differences in breast cancer risk, as indicated by mammographic breast density, by level of acculturation. The results of our study have two important implications. First, because most women migrated after adolescence, our results suggest that acculturation-related changes in adulthood influence risk, although specific factors have yet to be identified. Second, these differences are observable as differences in breast density – that is, prior to the occurrence of disease, and while prevention is still possible. In a currently ongoing study among foreign-born Chinese women in the Philadelphia region, we are tracking changes in diet and other lifestyle factors over time, as well as changes in mammographic breast density. Changes in disease risk in populations undergoing rapid social, cultural, and economic changes provide compelling evidence of the modifiability of cancer risk, even in adulthood. Studies within such populations also provide unique opportunities to observe these changes in progress, to investigate etiologic mechanisms, to explore interactions of genetic characteristics with environmental exposures, and to identify preventive strategies. Top

Fox Chase Programs

• Women's Cancer
• Cancer Prevention and Control

Extramural Affiliations

• California Polytechnic State University