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Different nutrition plans for different cancers?

Page last modified on: October 16, 2008
Question from Pat: Is there research to show that women with hormone-negative cancer should follow a different nutritional plan than women with hormone positive cancer?
Answers —Cyndi Thomson, Ph.D., R.D.: This is a good one. In December's Journal of the National Cancer Institute there was a publication summarizing the results of the Women's Intervention Nutrition Study that included over 2,500 breast cancer survivors. The findings of that study showed that women with estrogen receptor-negative breast cancer had a significant increase in survival from breast cancer. So if you have an ER-negative breast tumor, the current study suggests that you should be on a low-fat diet. This protective benefit of a low-fat diet was not seen in women with ER-positive breast cancer, possibly because we have medications that are highly effective in improving prognoses for estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer. Breast cancer survivors should also be aware of another large diet study among breast cancer survivors, the Women's Healthy Eating and Living Study, which was a plant-based or high vegetable diet—low-fat and high fiber. The results of that study should be out by the end of 2007. That study is out of UC San Diego.
Melinda Irwin, Ph.D., M.P.H.: The California Teachers Study also showed that physical activity was more protective against developing breast cancer among ER-negative women.

On Wednesday, April 18, 2007, the Ask-the-Expert Online Conference was called Weight Management During and After Breast Cancer Treatment. Cyndi Thomson, Ph.D., R.D. and Melinda Irwin Ph.D., M.P.H. answered your questions on managing weight during and after breast cancer treatment.

The materials presented in these conferences do not necessarily reflect the views of breastcancer.org. A qualified healthcare professional should be consulted before using any therapeutic product or regimen discussed. All readers should verify all information and data before employing any therapies described here.

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Meet the Experts

Cyndi Thomson, Ph.D., R.D.Cyndi Thomson, Ph.D., R.D. is an associate professor in Nutritional Sciences at the University of Arizona - with joint appointments in medicine and public health.

Melinda Irwin, Ph.D., M.P.H. is an assistant professor in the department of Epidemiology and Public Health at Yale School of Medicine.

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