A diet rich in fatty acids in the early stages of life, when estrogens are not yet produced by the body, may increase the risk of developing breast cancer at a later age, the authors of a new study believe.
The results help to understand in a new way the processes that ensure the normal development of the breast and later can affect the risk of developing breast cancer, said study leader Russ Howey, an associate professor at the University of California at Davis.
"Scientists have long suggested that circulating estrogens in the ovaries, which underlie the normal development of the female reproductive system, have a decisive effect on the onset of breast formation and its development. However, our data suggest that changes in metabolism caused by a certain diet may "not only lead to obesity and type 2 diabetes, but also promote breast growth regardless of the effects of estrogen."
Studies in mice showed that breast-induced breast growth also increased the formation of breast tumors in some mice. Scientists ruled out the role of estrogen as a possible cause, since breast tissue growth was observed not only in female mice, but also in males whose estrogen is blocked.
The results of the study are likely to be useful for a better understanding of what changes occur in the human breast before puberty and after menopause, when there is less estrogen in the body.
"The results of this study are especially important, as the onset of breast formation in girls is at an earlier age and often against the backdrop of a growing epidemic of childhood obesity," says Howey.
