Study Linking Carbohydrate, Particularly Starch Intake Associated with Risk for Breast Cancer Recurrence.

http://www.aacr.org/home/public--media/aacr-in-the-news.aspx?d=2654

• Increased carbohydrate intake was associated with a higher rate of breast cancer recurrence.
• Changes in starch intake comprised 48 percent of changes in carbohydrate intake.
• Dietary modifications targeting starch intake warrant further research.

SAN ANTONIO — Researchers have linked increased starch intake to a greater risk for breast cancer recurrence, according to results presented at the 2011 CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, held Dec. 6-10, 2011.

“The results show that it’s not just overall carbohydrates, but particularly starch,” said Jennifer A. Emond, M.S., a public health doctoral student at the University of California, San Diego. “Women who increased their starch intake over one year were at a much likelier risk for recurring.”

Researchers conducted a subset analysis of 2,651 women who participated in the Women’s Healthy Eating and Living (WHEL) Dietary Intervention Trial, a plant-based intervention trial that enrolled about 3,088 survivors of breast cancer. WHEL researchers studied breast cancer recurrence and followed the participants for an average of seven years.