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Dietary fiber is associated with serum sex hormones and insulin-related peptides in postmenopausal breast cancer survivors

  • Epidemiology
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Abstract

Objective To measure the association between dietary fiber intake and eleven hormones and peptides in postmenopausal breast cancer survivors. Methods Intake of fiber from food and supplements was measured two to three years after breast cancer diagnosis in 493 postmenopausal women from three western states. Concurrently, a fasting blood sample was obtained for assay of estrone, estradiol, free estradiol, testosterone, free testosterone, dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate, sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG), leptin, C-peptide, insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF1), and IGF-binding protein-3. Adjusted means of these hormones and peptides were calculated for categories of fiber intake. Results High intake of dietary fiber was significantly (P ≤ 0.05) associated with low serum levels of estradiol and free estradiol and with high serum levels of IGF1. The combination of high dietary fiber intake and use of fiber supplements was additionally associated with low serum levels of C-peptide. The magnitude of the difference in hormone/peptide values, comparing high fiber intake to low fiber intake, varied from 16 to 28%, and the associations were independent of multiple confounding variables. Conclusion High fiber diets may be beneficial to postmenopausal breast cancer survivors due to fiber’s favorable influence on sex hormones and peptides known to affect breast cancer prognosis.

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Acknowledgement of financial support

National Cancer Institute contracts N01-CN-75036–20, N01-CN-05228, N01-PC-67010/N01-PC-35139, N01-PC-67007/N01-PC-35138 and N01-PC-67009/N01-PC-35142, and training grant T32 CA09661. A portion of this work was conducted through the Clinical Research Center at the University of Washington and supported by the NIH grant M01-RR-00037. Data collection for the Women’s Contraceptive and Reproductive Experiences Study at the University of Southern California was supported by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development contract N01-HD-3–3175. Patient identification was supported in part by the California Department of Health Services grant 050Q-8709-S1528.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. New Mexico Tumor Registry, MSC 11 620, 1 University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, 87131-0001, USA

    Sharon J. Wayne

  2. Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA, 98109-1024, USA

    Marian L. Neuhouser, Cornelia M. Ulrich & Anne McTiernan

  3. Institute for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, University of Southern California, Alhambra, CA, 91803, USA

    Carol Koprowski

  4. Department of Epidemiology and Population Health, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, 40202, USA

    Kathy B. Baumgartner & Richard N. Baumgartner

  5. City of Hope National Medical Center, Duarte, CA, 91010, USA

    Leslie Bernstein

  6. Applied Research Program, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD, 20892-7344, USA

    Rachel Ballard-Barbash

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  1. Sharon J. Wayne
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  2. Marian L. Neuhouser
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Correspondence to Sharon J. Wayne.

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Wayne, S.J., Neuhouser, M.L., Ulrich, C.M. et al. Dietary fiber is associated with serum sex hormones and insulin-related peptides in postmenopausal breast cancer survivors. Breast Cancer Res Treat 112, 149–158 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10549-007-9834-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10549-007-9834-y

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