AUTHOR=Lee Jean , Campbell Erin K. , Culakova Eva , Blanchard Lisa M. , Wixom Nellie , Peppone Luke J. , Campbell Thomas M. 

TITLE=Changes in the consumption of isoflavones, omega-6, and omega-3 fatty acids in women with metastatic breast cancer adopting a whole-food, plant-based diet: post-hoc analysis of nutrient intake data from an 8-week randomized controlled trial

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Nutrition

VOLUME=11

YEAR=2024

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/nutrition/articles/10.3389/fnut.2024.1338392

DOI=10.3389/fnut.2024.1338392

ISSN=2296-861X

ABSTRACT=<sec id="sec1"><title>Background</title><p>Diets rich in minimally processed plant-based foods are recommended to breast cancer patients, and some may have an interest in whole-food, plant-based (WFPB) diets that avoid animal-based foods, added fats, and refined sugars. Within WFPB diets, the intakes of isoflavones, omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-6 PUFAs), and omega-3 polyunsaturated FAs (n-3 PUFAs), which have been discussed in reference to breast cancer outcomes, have not been well characterized.</p></sec><sec id="sec2"><title>Methods</title><p>Women with stage IV breast cancer on stable therapy were randomized 2:1 into (1) a WFPB intervention (<italic>N</italic> = 21) or (2) usual care (<italic>N</italic> = 11) for 8 weeks. Three meals per day were provided. Outcomes presented here include dietary intake of isoflavones, n-3 and n-6- PUFAs, which were assessed using three-day food records at baseline and 8 weeks. Baseline and 8-week mean intake within groups were compared using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test and between control and intervention groups by a two-sample <italic>t</italic>-test.</p></sec><sec id="sec3"><title>Results</title><p>The WFPB intervention participants increased their daily consumption of total isoflavones from a mean of 0.8 mg/day to 14.5 mg/day (<italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.0001) and decreased the n-6:n-3 ratio of their diet from a mean of 9.3 to 3.7 (<italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.0001). Within the WFPB group, linoleic acid (n-6 PUFA) consumption decreased by a mean of 3.8 g (<italic>p</italic> = 0.0095), from 12.8 g/day to 9.0 g/day; total n-3 PUFA consumption increased by a mean of 1.1 g (<italic>p</italic> = 0.0005), from 1.6 g/day to 2.7 g/day.</p></sec><sec id="sec4"><title>Conclusion</title><p>Transitioning to a WFPB diet resulted in significantly increased isoflavone intake and decreased n-6:n-3 ratio in women with breast cancer.</p></sec>