ABSTRACT
Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States. An estimated 514,000 people will die of cancer in 1991 (1). One hundred seventy-five thousand new cases of breast cancer and 44,500 deaths in women from breast cancer are the estimates for 1991. Breast cancer occurs much more frequently in Western Europe and North America than in Asia and Africa (2). According to the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, virtually all cancers studied so far appear to be affected by diet (3). Epidemiological studies have indicated cancer of the breast is associated with dietary factors, particularly fats, animal protein and total calories (4-8). The two dietary factors that are consistently associated with breast cancer risk are excess caloric intake and dietary fat (9,10). Recently, the association of high fat intake with breast cancer has been re-examined (11). Risk of breast cancer is also increased by a family history of breast cancer, young age at menarche, late menopause and obesity (12).
