Epidemiologic Studies of Isoflavones Mammographic Density.docVIP

Nutrients 2010, 2, 35-48; doi:10.3390/nu2010035 OPEN ACCESS nutrients ISSN 2072-6643 /journal/nutrients Review Epidemiologic Studies of Isoflavones Mammographic Density Gertraud Maskarinec 1,*, Martijn Verheus 1 and Jeffrey A. Tice 2 1 Cancer Research Center of Hawaii, 1236 Lauhala Street, Honolulu, HI 96813, USA; E-Mail: m.verheus@nki.nl 2 Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, 1701 Divisadero Street, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA; E-Mail: jeff.tice@ * Author to whom correspondence should be addressed: E-Mail: gertraud@. Received: 12 November 2009 / Accepted: 15 January 2010 / Published: 19 January 2010 Abstract: Isoflavones, phytoestrogens in soy beans with estrogen-like properties, have been examined for their cancer protective effects. Mammographic density is a strong predictor of breast cancer. This review summarizes studies that have examined the association between isoflavones and breast density. Observational investigations in Hawaii and Singapore suggest slightly lower breast density among women of Asian descent with regular soy intake, but two larger studies from Japan and Singapore did not observe a protective effect. The findings from seven randomized trials with primarily Caucasian women indicate that soy or isoflavones do not modify mammographic density. Soy foods and isoflavone supplements within a nutritional range do not appear to modify breast cancer risk as assessed by mammographic density. Keywords: breast cancer risk; mammographic density; soy foods; isoflavones; Asian ethnicity; epidemiology; randomized trials 1. Introduction The low breast cancer rates in Japan as compared to Western countries and epidemiologic evidence [1,2] offer support for the hypothesis that soy intake protects against breast cancer. Investigations among women with Japanese and Chinese ancestry suggest that beneficia