Dietary habits and nutrition intake of breast cancer patients

ABSTRACT

As the second leading cause of death in the United States, cancer is a major public health problem today. Cancer incidence varies world-wide and tends to change with environmental factors, with the possibility that diet and nutrition may play a role in this regard. This retrospective study is an effort to reconstruct the breast cancer patients past diet. It was conducted on "50" breast cancer patients and "40" age-matched controls, free from any breast lumps. They were taken from the surgical departments of Alexandria Main University Hospital and Medical Research Institute. Through a questionnaire data were collected on socioeconomic condition, biological features, food habits and dietary history. Data revealed a lack of association between educational level, working status, biologic features and breast cancer. Results demonstrated firmly that breast cancer patients were consuming diets significantly higher in all macro-nutrients especially vegetable and total fat and total energy. Only animal protein consumption failed to record a significant association. Regarding the fatty acid nature of the consumed fats, the saturated and unsaturated fatty acid content of the patients diet was significantly higher than that of controls. Data also showed that cancer patients were generally eating more than controls. The difference in consumption was significantly higher in energy producing foods [carbohydrate and fat-rich foods]