The relationship between dietary fat, adipose tissue composition, and neoplasms of the breast

Dietary fat has been implicated in the development of carcinoma of the breast. Because of the difficulties in obtaining accurate dietary histories, we analyzed subcutaneous adipose fatty acids to compare the quality of fat intake in three groups of patients undergoing investigations for breast masses. These included carcinoma (n = 37, avg. age 54 yrs.), fibroadenoma (n = 27, age 31 yrs.), and other types (n = 21, age 50 yrs.). Subjects in the carcinoma group were heavier, although they were not obese. A one-way analysis of variance of nine adipose fatty acids and their derived ratios [polysaturates:saturates (P:S)] did not show any systematic differences in the three groups. The quality of dietary fat does not appear to be associated with the development of neoplasia of the breast in this population, which consumes a diet of a high P:S ratio.