Epidemiology

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Meat, fish and egg intake and risk of breast cancer

  1. Michelle D. Holmes1,†,*,
  2. Graham A. Colditz1,2,
  3. David J. Hunter1,2,3,
  4. Susan E. Hankinson1,2,
  5. Bernard Rosner1,
  6. Frank E. Speizer1,
  7. Walter C. Willett1,2,3

Article first published online: 9 JAN 2003

DOI: 10.1002/ijc.10910

Issue

International Journal of Cancer

International Journal of Cancer

Volume 104, Issue 2, pages 221–227, 20 March 2003

Additional Information

How to Cite

Holmes, M. D., Colditz, G. A., Hunter, D. J., Hankinson, S. E., Rosner, B., Speizer, F. E. and Willett, W. C. (2003), Meat, fish and egg intake and risk of breast cancer. International Journal of Cancer, 104: 221–227. doi: 10.1002/ijc.10910

Author Information

  1. 1

    Channing Laboratory, Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA

  2. 2

    Department of Epidemiology, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA

  3. 3

    Department of Nutrition, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA

  1. †

    Fax: +617-525-2008

*Channing Laboratory, Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women's Hospital 181 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115

Publication History

  1. Issue published online: 4 FEB 2003
  2. Article first published online: 9 JAN 2003
  3. Manuscript Accepted: 4 NOV 2002
  4. Manuscript Revised: 30 OCT 2002
  5. Manuscript Received: 17 JUN 2002

Funded by

  • National Institutes of Health. Grant Number: CA87969

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Keywords:

  • meat intake;
  • fish intake;
  • egg intake;
  • breast cancer;
  • women;
  • observational study

Abstract

Intakes of animal protein, meat, and eggs have been associated with breast cancer incidence and mortality in ecological studies, but data from long-term prospective studies are limited. We therefore examined these relationships in the Nurses' Health Study. We followed 88,647 women for 18 years, with 5 assessments of diet by food frequency questionnaire, cumulatively averaged and updated over time. We calculated the relative risks (RR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) for risk of developing invasive breast cancer, over categories of nutrient and food intake. During follow-up, 4,107 women developed invasive breast cancer. Compared to the lowest quintile of intake, the RR and 95% CI for the highest quintile of intake were 1.02 (0.92–1.14) for animal protein, 0.93 (0.83–1.05) for red meat and 0.89 (0.79–1.00) for all meat. Results did not differ by menopausal status or family history of breast cancer. We found no evidence that intake of meat or fish during mid-life and later was associated with risk of breast cancer. © 2003 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

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