Lifestyle Practices Key in Lowering Breast Ca Risk

However, a study by her USC colleague Anna Wu, Ph.D., points to green tea consumption as a potential risk reduction intervention. Dr. Wu's population-based, case-control study of breast cancer in Asian American women in Los Angeles showed a dose-response effect, with voracious green tea drinkers having roughly a 50% lower risk of developing breast cancer than women who did not drink the beverage regularly (Int. J. Cancer 2003;106:574–9).

The plausibility of such an effect is supported by favorable mechanistic in vitro and animal studies involving epigallocatechin-3-gallate, believed to be one of the major biologically active components present in green but not black tea.

Soy intake was also associated with reduced breast cancer risk in Dr. Wu's study, but mainly in those who consumed it heavily in adolescence.