Influence of diet on mammary cancer.

Analysis of epidemiological data and experiments with animals have provided evidence that dietary fat has an important influence on mammary cancer. Further epidemiological studies should be carried out to examine this relationship more fully, and additional experimental work is required to determine the mechanisms by which dietary fat influences mammary cancer in animals. Dietary carbohydrate and minor dietary components, such as retinoids and certain trace elements, have also been shown to influence mammary cancer in animals. Decreasing the fat content of the diet may offer a practical means of reducing mortality from breast cancer, which continues to be a major cause of death in many parts of the world.