Sugars in Western Diets Increase Breast Cancer Risk

A new study from the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center finds that the amount of dietary sugar in an average Western diet may raise the risk of breast cancer and metastasis.  

In an effort to show the effect that dietary sugar has on the 12-lipoxygenase (12-LOX) enzymatic signaling pathway, researchers conducted 4 studies involving mice that were randomized into various diet groups, and put on 1 of 4 diets. At 6 months of age, 30% of the mice placed on a starch-control diet were found to have measurable tumors. Among mice fed sucrose-enriched diets, 50% to 58% had developed mammary tumors, and the authors note that the number of lung metastases was demonstrably higher among mice on a sucrose- or fructose-enriched diet, in comparison to mice that were fed a starch-control diet.
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Ultimately, “added sugar—especially refined fructose—should be reduced in [female patients] diets, and represent a small fraction of total calories consumed,” says Peiying Yang, PhD, assistant professor of palliative, rehabilitation, and integrative medicine at MD Anderson, and co-author of the study. “Eating whole foods is the best choice.”

“It’s is important to limit added sugar in the diet, including high-fructose corn syrup in soft drinks and processed foods, to no more than 10% of daily calories,” says Yang, adding that limiting added sugar to less than 5% of one’s daily calories is ideal, and “equates to less than 9 teaspoons a day for men and 6 teaspoons a day for women.”

Yang—who notes that exercise is equally important in achieving the goal of preventing breast cancer and other non-communicable diseases—also recommends minimizing the intake of soft drinks, sweetened teas, fruit juice, sport drinks, candy, desserts, cookies, ice cream, and sweetened breakfast cereal, as well as processed food.

“Sugar is hiding everywhere,” says Yang. “So read labels carefully.”

—Mark McGraw

Reference

Jiang Y, Pan Y, et al. A Sucrose-Enriched Diet Promotes Tumorigenesis in Mammary Gland in Part through the 12-Lipoxygenase Pathway. Cancer Res. 2016.