Breast Cancer Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Breast Cancer, including details on symptoms, genetics, screening, treatment, information.

The role of dietary measurement error in investigating the hypothesized link between dietary fat intake and breast cancer--a story with twists and turns.

Thiébaut AC, Kipnis V, Schatzkin A, Freedman LS

Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland 20892-7232, USA. ann.thiebaut@yahoo.com

The association between dietary fat and breast cancer is one of the most controversial hypotheses in nutritional epidemiology. In this editorial, the authors review the evidence from animal and human studies, including international correlation, case-control, cohort studies, intervention trials, and studies comparing dietary assessment instruments. The authors emphasize the importance of the role played by measurement error arising from assessing dietary habits using self-reported questionnaires, as it can distort estimated associations, not necessarily towards the absence of an association. They describe the twists and turns of the dietary fat and breast cancer debate that have revolved around this issue.

Published 8 January 2008 in Cancer Invest, 26(1): 68-73.
Full-text of this article is available online (may require subscription).

© 2004-2008 Breast Cancer Research Today. All Rights Reserved.