Minerva Endocrinologica 2020 Sep 24

DOI: 10.23736/S0391-1977.20.03266-6

Copyright © 2020 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

lingua: Inglese

Mediterranean diet and breast cancer risk: a narrative review

Daniela LAUDISIO ^{1, 2} ✉, Bianca CASTELLUCCI ^{1, 2}, Luigi BARREA ^{1, 2}, Gabriella PUGLIESE ^{1, 2}, Silvia SAVASTANO ^{1, 2}, Annamaria COLAO ^{1, 2, 3}, Giovanna MUSCOGIURI ^{1, 2}

¹ Dipartimento di Medicina Clinica e Chirurgia, Unità di Endocrinologia, Università Federico II di Napoli, Napoli, Italia; ² Centro Italiano per la cura e il Benessere del paziente con Obesità (C.I.B.O), Dipartimento di Medicina Clinica e Chirurgia, Unità di Endocrinologia, Università Federico II di Napoli, Napoli, Italia; ³ Cattedra Unesco "Educazione alla salute e allo sviluppo sostenibile", Università Federico II di Napoli, Napoli, Italia

Breast cancer is the second most frequent type of cancer worldwide and the most commonly occurring malignancy in women, and its incidence is increasing in most developed and developing countries. There is growing evidence that lifestyle factors, in particular diet may be associated with higher Breast Cancer risk. Some evidence exists regarding the benefit of Mediterranean Diet on reduced risk of Breast Cancer in premenopausal and postmenopausal women. The protective effect of the Mediterranean Diet against the risk of Breast Cancer, is primarily due to principal foods of this nutritional pattern. The principal components of the Mediterranean Diet, such as fruits and vegetables, olive oil, fish and red wine have important antioxidants properties due to their high content of substances like polyphenols, flavonoids, carotenoids and fibers, along with a favourable fatty acid profile, that in turn could reduce the risk of Breast Cancer. Considering the severity of breast cancer and the increasing incidence in the world, there is an increasing interest in promoting prevention strategies in order to reduce the incidence. The aim of this paper is to provide a general overview of the current evidence on the relationship between Breast Cancer and Mediterranean Diet, in premenopausal and postmenopausal women, and to emphasize the potential role of Mediterranean Diet as an effective tool in primary prevention. The possible molecular mechanisms underlying this association will be also pointed out.

KEY WORDS: Breast cancer; Mediterranean diet; Postemenopausal women, Premenopausal women; Nutrition