Zeitschrift für Karzinogenese und Mutagenese

Abstrakt

Soy and Breast Cancer, have we Analyzed all the Risks?

Koo J and Schramm L

In the United States women have a 1 in 8 lifetime risk for developing breast cancer leading women to turn to natural products for breast cancer prevention. One natural product women have turned to for breast cancer prevention is soy which has been extensively studied for its health benefits. Soy has been classified as a phytoestrogen and as such has been studied as a chemopreventive agent in breast cancer. Results from preclinical and epidemiological studies involving soy have been contradictory. In part, the contradictory results may stem from study design and dietary sources of soy studied. In the US exposure to soy is primarily unfermented soy, but most epidemiological studies reporting breast cancer chemopreventive effects of soy involve fermented soy exposure. Thus, a direct comparison of the effects of unfermented and fermented soy on breast cancer in Western women is warranted.