Flavonoids and Breast Cancer Risk in Italy Cristina Bosetti1, Luana Spertini1, Maria Parpinel2,3, Patrizia Gnagnarella4, Pagona Lagiou5, Eva Negri1, Silvia Franceschi6, Maurizio Montella7, Julie Peterson8, Johanna Dwyer9, Attilio Giacosa10 and Carlo La Vecchia1,11 1 Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche "Mario Negri", Milan, Italy; 2 Unità di Epidemiologia e Biostatistica, Centro di Riferimento Oncologico, Aviano (PN), Italy; 3 Instituto di Igiene ed Epidemiologia, Policlinico Universitario di Udine, Udine, Italy; 4 Divisione di Epidemiologia e Biostatistica, Istituto Europeo di Oncologia, Milan, Italy; 5 Department of Hygiene and Epidemiology, University of Athens Medical School, Athens, Greece; 6 International Agency for Research on Cancer, Lyon, France; 7 Servizio di Epidemiologia, Istituto Tumori "Fondazione Pascale", Naples, Italy; 8 Frances Stern Nutrition Center, Tufts-New England Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts; 9 Schools of Medicine, Nutrition, and the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University, Boston, Massachusetts; 10 Istituto Nazionale per la Ricerca sul Cancro, Genoa, Italy; and 11 Istituto di Statistica Medica e Biometria, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy Requests for reprints: Cristina Bosetti, Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche "Mario Negri", Via Eritrea 62-20157 Milan, Italy. Phone: 39-2390-14526; Fax: 39-2332-00231. E-mail: bosetti@marionegri.it Few epidemiologic studies have investigated the potential relation between flavonoids and breast cancer risk. We have applied recently published data on the composition of foods and beverages in terms of six principal classes of flavonoids (i.e., flavanones, flavan-3-ols, flavonols, flavones, anthocyanidines, and isoflavones) on dietary information collected in a large-case control study of breast cancer conducted in Italy between 1991 and 1994. The study included 2,569 women with incident, histologically confirmed breast cancer, and 2,588 hospital controls. Odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals were estimated by multiple logistic regression models. After allowance for major confounding factors and energy intake, a reduced risk of breast cancer was found for increasing intake of flavones (OR, 0.81, for the highest versus the lowest quintile; P-trend, 0.02), and flavonols (OR, 0.80; P-trend, 0.06). No significant association was found for other flavonoids, including flavanones (OR, 0.95), flavan-3-ols (OR, 0.86), anthocyanidins (OR, 1.09), as well as for isoflavones (OR, 1.05). The findings of this large study of an inverse association between flavones and breast cancer risk confirm the results of a Greek study. Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers & Prevention Vol. 14, 805-808, April 2005 Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev, November 2007 Remember we are NOT Doctors and have NO medical training. This site is like an Encylopedia - there are many pages, many links on many topics. Support our work with any size DONATION - see left side of any page - for how to donate. You can help raise awareness of CAM.