AHS17

Breast cancer is the most common form of malignancy and the leading cause of global cancer mortality in women. Obesity is a known risk factor for this disease. Some of the proposed mechanisms that link obesity to breast cancer include increased adipose tissue estrogen production, increased inflammation and hyperinsulinemia; all of which are independent risk factors to breast cancer. Understanding how these mechanisms are affected by dietary factors may help in establishing recommendations that reduce breast cancer incidence and mortality. Observational studies point to a beneficial effect of low fat diets in breast cancer prevention and treatment owing to their estrogen-lowering effects. However, low carbohydrate diets may also be beneficial with their insulin-reducing effects. Therefore, this lecture will focus on evaluating the evidence from dietary interventions that studied the effect of low fat and low carbohydrate diets on breast cancer prevention and treatment.