Association between branched-chain amino acid intake and the risk of breast cancer: a case-control study

Introduction: Given that, studies on the association of dietary intake of branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) with risk of cancers, especially breast cancer, are limited, we aimed to examine the association between dietary intake of BCAAs and risk of breast cancer. Methods: This case-control study was performed on ۳۵۰ patients with breast cancer and ۷۰۰ apparently healthy controls among aged ≥۳۰ years Iranian women. The validated ۱۰۶-item Willett-format semi-quantitative dish-based food frequency questionnaire was used to collect information about dietary intakes. The total intake of valine, leucine, and isoleucine from all food items in the questionnaire was used to calculate BCAAs intake. Results: After controlling for potential confounders, we found that women in the highest quartile of BCAAs had lower odds of breast cancer compared with the first quartile (OR: ۰.۵۰; ۹۵% CI: ۰.۳۴-۰.۷۲). When we stratified the analysis based on menopausal status, a significant inverse association between BCAAs intake and odds of postmenopausal breast cancer was observed (OR: ۰.۲۲; ۹۵% CI: ۰.۱۳-۰.۳۹), although this significant relationship was not found in premenopausal breast cancer (OR: ۲.۵۷; ۹۵% CI: ۰.۵۱-۱۲.۷۳). Also, this significant association was also observed for valine, leucine, and isoleucine separately. Conclusion: We found that dietary intake of BCAAs was inversely associated with the risk of breast cancer. In the stratified analysis based on menopausal status, we observed this significant association in postmenopausal women only.

Keywords:

Branched-chain amino acids , BCAAs , breast cancer , premenopausal , postmenopausal