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VIEW ALL NEWSSoy's protective effect against breast cancer varies by receptor status
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Rather than protecting against breast cancer across the board, high soy food consumption appears to reduce the risk of estrogen receptor (ER)-positive and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-negative tumors specifically, according to Japanese researchers reporting in the October 1 issue of the International Journal of Cancer.
Dr. Takeshi Suzuki, at Aichi Cancer Center Research Institute in Nagoya, and associates conducted a case-control study of 678 breast cancer cases and 3,390 controls matched by age and menopausal status with no history of cancer.
The researchers "observed a significantly reduced risk" of breast cancer among women with the highest soy intake who were ER-positive, HER2-negative or both.
For the top tertile of soy intake, compared to the lowest, the odds ratio (OR) was 0.74 for ER-positive breast cancer and 0.78 for HER2-negative breast cancer.
Soy intake was not significantly associated with HER2-positive or ER-negative tumors, or with progesterone receptor (PR) status.
However, Dr. Suzuki's team found that "when the three receptors were jointly examined, a reduced risk was observed only in patients with ER-positive/PR-positive/HER2-negative tumor," with OR = 0.73 for those in the top tertile of soy consumption.
"These findings are biologically plausible, and suggest a potential benefit of soybean products in the prevention of breast cancer," the investigators conclude.
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