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Breast Cancer Survival and Soy

All three human studies on soy and breast cancer survival suggest that soy in sufficient amounts may improve survival in women diagnosed with breast cancer.

April 2, 2012 |
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Breast Cancer Survival and Soy, 5.0 out of 5 based on 3 ratings

Sources Cited

Guha N, Kwan ML, Quesenberry CP Jr, Weltzien EK, Castillo AL, Caan BJ. Soy isoflavones and risk of cancer recurrence in a cohort of breast cancer survivors: the Life After Cancer Epidemiology study. Breast Cancer Res Treat. 2009 Nov;118(2):395-405.

Shu XO, Zheng Y, Cai H, Gu K, Chen Z, Zheng W, Lu W. Soy food intake and breast cancer survival. JAMA. 2009 Dec 9;302(22):2437-43.

Ballard-Barbash R, Neuhouser ML. Challenges in design and interpretation of observational research on health behaviors and cancer survival. JAMA. 2009 Dec 9;302(22):2483-4.

Caan BJ, Natarajan L, Parker B, Gold EB, Thomson C, Newman V, Rock CL, Pu M, Al-Delaimy W, Pierce JP. Soy food consumption and breast cancer prognosis. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2011 May;20(5):854-8.

Acknowledgements

Image thanks to Anne

Transcript

What about soy food intake and breast cancer survival? We didn’t have a clue until 2009 with the LACE study, Life After Cancer Epidemiology.
About 2000 California breast cancer survivors followed for 9 years. Postmenopausal women, on the estrogen–blocking drug tamoxifen, who got the most of this soy isoflavone in their diet had the lowest rate of breast cancer recurrence—appeared to cut breast cancer recurrence in half. Soy was, if anything, protective. But you can’t just sprinkle some soy sauce. It took soy levels comparable to those consumed in Asian populations—one or two servings a day—to reduce the risk of occurrence.
Then came the famous Journal of the American Medical Association study, the biggest yet, 5000 breast cancer survivors. Conclusion: Among women with breast cancer, soy food consumption was significantly associated with decreased risk of death and recurrence.
Now this isn’t taking soy isoflavone supplements, this was actually eating soy foods. the potential benefits are confined to soy foods, and inferences should not be made about the risks or benefits of soy-containing dietary supplements. Patients with breast cancer can be assured that enjoying a soy latte or indulging in pad thai with tofu causes no harm and, when consumed in plentiful amounts, may reduce risk of disease recurrence.
And then finally, which is the reason I bring it up now, 2011: Soy Food Consumption and Breast Cancer Prognosis. A third study, the only three such studies in existence, and soy is three for three. As isoflavone intake increased, risk of death decreased. What more do we need to know?

To see any graphs, charts, graphics, images, and quotes to which Dr. Greger may be referring watch the above video. This is just an approximation of the audio contributed by veganmontreal.

To help out on the site please email volunteer@nutritionfacts.org

Dr. Michael Greger

Doctor's Note

This is the fifth in my five-part series on the latest research on what impact diet has on breast cancer survival. For two videos on what not to eat, seeBreast Cancer Survival, Butterfat, and Chicken and Breast Cancer Survival and Trans Fat. And soy joins flax seeds, as something breast cancer survivors should probably go out of their way to eat. See Breast Cancer Survival and Lignan Intake and Flax and Fecal Flora. There are 21 more videos on soy and also hundreds of other videos on more than a thousand subjects. Note that the JAMA study is open access, so you can download it by clicking on the link above in the Sources Cited section.

For more context, check out my associated blog posts: Breast Cancer Survival and Soy, How Much Soy Is Too Much?, Are Bioidentical Hormones Safe?, Gerson Therapy for Cancer?, How Tumors Use Meat to Grow, Mushrooms for Breast Cancer Prevention, and Why Less Breast Cancer in Asia?

  • http://nutritionfacts.org/members/mgreger/ Michael Greger M.D.

    This is the fifth in my five-part series on the latest research on what impact diet has on breast cancer survival. For two videos on what not to eat, see Breast Cancer Survival, Butterfat, and Chicken and Breast Cancer Survival and Trans Fat. And soy joins flax seeds, as something breast cancer survivors should probably go out of their way to eat. See Breast Cancer Survival and Lignan Intake and Flax and Fecal Flora. There are 21 more videos on soy and also hundreds of other videos on more than a thousand subjects. Note that the JAMA study is open access, so you can download it by clicking on the link above in the Sources Cited section.

    • http://nutritionfacts.org/members/mfravaga/ mfravaga

      Thanks for all the great videos

      What about the different types of cancer? Is soy equally healthy for all breast cancer patients,

    • http://www.facebook.com/joz.lee.5 Joz Lee

      Dear Dr. Greger: with due respect…. please give up ALL soy for human consumption. It’s the wrong bean and it is not for health. Please? Please?

      • http://www.facebook.com/joz.lee.5 Joz Lee

        Please the fact that Asians have better ”family”’ values and respect for
        life/people? that’s why they suffer less from cancers?

        Try studying German New Medicine by Ryke Hamer. to understand a
        few facts.

        Read: Cancer is not a disease, by Andreas
        Moritz
        and get off SOY/ TVP/ SOY MILK, SOY CHEESE,
        SOY MARGARINE, SOY ICE CREAM, SOY BURGERS, SOY HOT DOGS !!!! It’s
        POISON unFood !

  • http://nutritionfacts.org/members/patipnuts/ patipnuts

    OK. As a DES daughter, when I have soy or flax, I get painful lumps in my breast. I am not the only DES daughter who does not tolerate it. How can that be if it is beneficial? It is supposed to block estrogen with the weaker phytoestrogen. I am 61, long post-meno. Any ideas?

    • http://nutritionfacts.org/members/drdons/ DrDons

      I’m not aware of any studies on soy and DES (sons and/or daughters). However the advice I typically give my patients is to avoid foods that cause symptoms unless there is compelling scientific data supporting the benefits outweighing the risks.

    • http://www.facebook.com/joz.lee.5 Joz Lee

      SOY is not not a health food ! Just do History of SOY . #1 Asians use Glycine Soja and we use/eat Gycine Max…. this is a l961 invention in Sweden in a lab for industrial purposes. and it’s all GMO … so it’s unfit for human consumption.

  • http://nutritionfacts.org/members/stefanjuhl/ stefanjuhl

    Great info (again). I have not read the studies, so my question is because of ignorance :-)What about the confounders? Is survival better because they substitute meat and dairy for tofu and soy-milk, and the result is due to avoidance of animal-protein, or is it really because of add on with soy products?

    • http://nutritionfacts.org/members/toxins/ Toxins

      Soy foods are rich in isoflavones, a major group of phytoestrogens that have been known to reduce the risk of breast cancer. These were the main nutrients in the studies that were attributed to the breast cancer survival.

      • http://www.facebook.com/joz.lee.5 Joz Lee

        PhytoEstrogens….. please read this: http://www.livingnetwork.co.za/drclarknetwork/common-ailments/female-reproductive-system/

        scroll down: Menopausal Symptoms, Hot Flushes once our body stops producing high doses of estrogen … why do humanoids try to push/shove it back in? HOT FLASHES are a Toxic body/lifestyle….. hot/fever is to help us sweat those toxic build ups out. It does not mean we need more estrogen or phytoestrogens.

        • Lew Payne

          Sounds like quackery, from a website hosted in Zaire, no less. Its so-called information fails to cite supporting peer-reviewed studies backing its dubious claims. I’ll stick to reproducible scientific evidence for my facts, thanks.

        • http://jolkapolkaskitchen.blogspot.com/ WholeFoodChomper

          The kind of “information” that you are espousing is exactly the kind of nutrition/medical confusion that Dr. Greger is trying to tackle. Just because you find “evidence” to support your beliefs on the internet does not make them true. For a truly evidenced based perspective on soy, I recommend that you watch all of the videos that Dr. G has on soy on this site. Not to be hurtful, but I think it might also be helpful to you to read a little bit about how to critically assess scientific information (especially information found on the internet).

    • http://www.facebook.com/joz.lee.5 Joz Lee

      No NOt they do not substitute meat and dairy for TOFU. they eat very little tofu and most of it is fermented! Their diet is more Plant Source… not SOY or Soy milk.

      • Nunya Biznez

        incorrect. I had a Japanese room mate. I can assure you the Japanese eat tofu and soy beans UNFERMENTED and use it for menopause too Don’t believe everything you read. Get the info from the horse’s mouth instead :-) The issue is GM soy. It can NOT be compared to organic soy.

  • Michael Greger M.D.

    Please also check out my associated blog post, Breast Cancer Survival and Soy!

    • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=670735069 Tan Truong

       This link aims at this page, but I think you meant another page. Also it’s broken.

      • Michael Greger M.D.

         Thank you so much for pointing that out–I’ll correct that. You’ve been such a great help. I really appreciate it!

  • annon2013

    Okay so should I eat soy or not? I had an early diagnosis of breast cancer and had a lumpectomy. Fortunate the little devil did not travel to my nodes and I am doing well for it being the 3rd month after surgery, having just completed radiation and thank goodness no chemo needed. Soy supposedly helps to create estrogen which is what can contribute to the invasive ductile diagnosis. Before my diagnosis I used soy instead of milk and also loved edemame beans and tofu all in moderation.

    Since soy is also said to ease the natural course of menopause hot flashed etc…which I am currently in and will be forced to undergo full steam like it our not due to Tamoxifen. In your respected opinion would drinking a glass of soy milk a day benefit the effects and also help prevent the return of the cells gone mad to my still intact scar bearing breast?  

    • Toxins

      So phytoestrogens and xenoestrogens are not the same thing as many health professionals seem to confuse the two. Consuming soy can significantly help reduce the risk of breast cancer.
      http://nutritionfacts.org/video/dairy-sexual-precocity/

    • http://www.facebook.com/joz.lee.5 Joz Lee

      DO NOT NOT EAT ANY SOY… If you can get Glycine Soja from Asia and use it sparingly as the Asians do… enjoy some and ”fermented only’ Asians do not use soy like Americans do! Then we use the wrong bean ! 98% GMO Glycine Max which is poison to us.

  • CelticLass7

    I was diagnosed with stage 1 estrogen receptor positive invasive ductal breast cancer
    4 years ago.  I subsequently underwent a skin-sparing mastectomy.  There was no spread to my lymph nodes, and I had no radiation or chemotherapy.  However, I have been on Tamoxifen for almost 4 years, with instructions to avoid any phytoestrogens, so have been avoiding soy in all forms, flax seeds, pumpkin, sweet potatoes, etc.  Now I’ve been told that I have a slightly elevated cancer marker in a recent blood test (CA 15-3 with a score of 39.1 unit/mL H), and they want to do a bone scan and brain MRI just to be careful.  Everytime I have asked my oncologist about soy I’m told it should be avoided because of it being a phytoestrogen and studies showing that it could increase my chance of recurrence.  Having been a vegan for the past 1-1/2 yrs. it would be a whole lot easier if I wasn’t having to avoid so many healthy foods. 

    As of Nov. 2012, what is your feeling on this matter?  Do you believe it would be more protective for me to just go ahead and eat soy, flax, etc.?  Thank you so much for any opinion you can give me.

    • Guest

      I had bilateral mastectomies 6 years ago. My oncologist told me to stop taking stuff with phytoestrogen. .I have stopped my evening primrose oil since and she has also said not to take flaxseeds. Is it proven that it is harmless now?

      • http://nutritionfacts.org/ Michael Greger M.D.

        I would encourage you to share this video and the one about the flax (Breast Cancer Survival and Lignan Intake) with your physician and encourage them to contact me if they have any questions (or even better if they know of some science that I’ve missed!).

    • http://www.facebook.com/joz.lee.5 Joz Lee

      Yes! avoid all soy products. NOT HEALTH FOOD AT ALL !

  • Dolly Warden

    The quality of the soy product should also be considered. Organic and non-GMO soy products should be the one ones acceptable.

  • Ruth

    You better research this more. Soy is not healthy for women in general http://healthtalkwomen.com/sarahs-column/oh-soy-bad-the-ugly-truth-about-soy/

  • http://www.facebook.com/gerry.coffey.754 Gerry Coffey

    Dear Dr. Gregor:

    Thank you for your valuable research relating to optimal health, however Re: your question, “What more do we need to know?” It is important you know several things::

    1. I lived in Southeast Asia for nearly ten years and Asians consume soy, tofu, soy products, etc. as a CONDIMENT rather as the main dish in a full meal as is advocated by soy product manufacturers here in the U.S. re: everything from soy bacon and sausage to other soy products mimicking flesh-based foods we are advised to avoid.

    2. There is a substance in soy that must be removed to make it palatable for human consumption. Asian soy removes this substance via natural means whereas Western grown soy uses chemcials to do so.

    3. Asian soy–except that area where Monsanto has taken over–is naturally grown whereas approximately 98% of American-grown-soy is Genetically Engineered.

    4. And finally, as per Doctor T. Colin Campbell’s findings in the China Study, anytime one consumes over 7-10% concentrated protein in the diet– whether animal OR plant based– disease starts to set in. Animal products are worse due to other contanminants however CONCENTRATED PROTEIN is the overall disease culprit.

    I hope you will consder the above information and so advise your many followers as to that which might better suit them regarding the consumption of soy to avoid cancer and other diseases.

    Respectfully,

    Gerry Coffey

    “Do Good, Feel Good! Do Bad, Feel Bad! LIFE: It’s That Simple!”
    –Anonymous ;-)

    Gerry Coffey, CAJA: Court Appointed Juvenile Advocate

    Health Educator/Councilor/Global Media Liaison, IVU

    Coffey Break: A Healthy Alternative: http://www.all-creatures.org/cb/

    Recipient: Int’l. Vegetarian-of-the-Year-Award, Bangkok, Thailand, 2006

    http://www.all-creatures.org/cb/images/Resume-GerryCoffey08-15-2012.pdf

  • JesseWeiss

    Thank you for this. I was diagnosed several years ago with early stage breast cancer and had the area removed. There was also a lump in my other breast that was being closely watched. I was a large dairy consumer at the time and have since gone vegan — drinking soy milk and eat tofu now and then. My cancer has not returned and the lump in my other breast disappeared, no more have developed and I feel so much healthier. I wish people were warned about how dangerous (and very cruel!) drinking the breast milk of another species is. Luckily I did the research because few doctors are going to tell you this. Thank you Dr. Greger for all your videos and information!

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