Breast cancer is one of the most common forms of cancer with about 1.7 million cases diagnosed in 2012. According to the World Cancer Research Fund International, breast cancer is the second most common cancer which represents 12% of all new cases of cancer and about a quarter of all cancers in women.
In the past, there have been many studies linking breast cancer and soy. There have been different results in those studies. Some studies link that eating a significant amount of soy will help breast cancer patients live longer and were less likely to die of the disease. Some studies, however, revealed that soy has qualities that may interfere with anti-cancer medication. Other studies have also revealed that soy can mimic estrogen which can aggravate breast cancer so it should be avoided. Nevertheless, a recent study has revealed that consuming soy really helps breast cancer patients improve their health.
Time reports that researchers from the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University have found that consuming soy may not be harmful to breast cancer patients. Moreover, they revealed that consuming soy actually lowered the patients’ risk of dying from breast cancer.
Consuming Soy May Help Breast Cancer Patients Live Longer
The study analyzed data from more than 6,200 women who were diagnosed with different types of breast cancer. The study looked into the types of treatments the patients received and if their soy consumption affected their response. The result of the study revealed that women who consumed a half to one serving a week were 21% less likely to die of any cause over the cause of the study compared with women who ate less soy.
It was also revealed that patients with estrogen and progesterone-positive cancers were not harmed by soy and they did not experience increase in mortality during the study. Furthermore, the patients who were taking estrogen drugs did not increase their mortality either, which further strengthens their finding that soy does not make their treatments ineffective at all.
On another note, although the findings of the study seem positive for the breast cancer patients, the researchers emphasized it is still isn’t enough for them to recommend patients to consume soy. Dr. Fang Fang Zhang, who led the study, said that further studies should be conducted. On a final note, Zhang also stressed that avoiding soy should not be recommended to breast cancer patients.
