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World J Clin Oncol. Aug 10, 2014; 5(3): 455-464
Published online Aug 10, 2014. doi: 10.5306/wjco.v5.i3.455
Modification in the diet can induce beneficial effects against breast cancer
Felix Aragón, Gabriela Perdigón, Alejandra de Moreno de LeBlanc
Felix Aragón, Gabriela Perdigón, Alejandra de Moreno de LeBlanc, Centro de Referencia para Lactobacilos (CERELA-CONICET), T4000ILC San Miguel de Tucumán, Tucumán, Argentina
Gabriela Perdigón, Cátedra de Inmunología, Facultad de Bioquimíca, Química y Farmacia, Universidad Nacional de Tucumán, T4000ILC San Miguel de Tucumán, Tucumán, Argentina
Author contributions: All authors participated in the search of the data and writing the work.
Supported by Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET); Argentina and Consejo de Investigación de la Universidad Nacional de Tucumán, Argentina, No. CIUNT-26/D442
Correspondence to: Alejandra de Moreno de LeBlanc, PhD, Centro de Referencia para Lactobacilos (CERELA-CONICET), Chacabuco 145, T4000ILC San Miguel de Tucumán, Tucumán, Argentina. demoreno@cerela.org.ar
Telephone: +54-381-4310465129 Fax: +54-381-4005600
Received: February 25, 2014
Revised: May 15, 2014
Accepted: May 29, 2014
Published online: August 10, 2014
Processing time: 156 Days and 19.2 Hours
Abstract

The population tends to consume foods that in addition to their nutritional values can offer some benefits to their health. There are many epidemiological evidences and research studies in animal models suggesting that diet plays an important role in breast cancer prevention or progression. This review summarized some of the relevant researches about nutrition and cancer during the last years, especially in breast cancer. The analysis of probiotics and fermented products containing lactic acid bacteria in cancer prevention and/or treatment was especially discussed. It was observed that a balance of fatty acids similar to those of traditional Mediterranean diet, the consumption of fruits and vegetables, dietary fiber intake, vitamin supplementation are, along with the intake of probiotic products, the most extensively studied by the negative association to breast cancer risk. The consumption of probiotics and fermented products containing lactic acid bacteria was associated to reduce breast cancer risk in some epidemiological studies. The use of animal models showed the modulation of the host’s immune response as one of the important effects associated to the benefices observed with most probiotics. However; future assays in human are very important before the medical community can accept the addition of probiotic or fermented milks containing lactic acid bacteria as supplements for cancer patients.

Keywords: Breast cancer; Nutrition; Probiotic; Fermented products

Core tip: The population tends to consume foods that in addition to their nutritional values can offer some benefits to their health. In this sense, there are many epidemiological evidences and research studies suggesting that diet plays an important role in breast cancer prevention or progression. This review summarized some of the relevant researches about nutrition and cancer during the last years, especially in breast cancer. The analysis of probiotics and fermented products containing lactic acid bacteria in cancer prevention and / or treatment was especially discussed.