Flavonoids, flavonoid subclasses, and breast cancer risk: a meta-analysis of epidemiologic studies.

Generous intake of diets rich in flavones, flavonols, and flavan-3-ols may significantly cut down breast cancer risk, especially in post-menopausal women.

This study investigated the relationship between the consumption of diets high in flavonoids and breast cancer development risk by meta-analysis. Twelve studies that examined 191,419 subjects and 9,513 cases of breast cancer were included in this meta-analysis.

Researchers observed that subjects who frequently consumed flavone- and flavonol-rich foods and post-menopausal women with high intake of flavan-3-ols had slim chances of developing breast cancer compared to rare- and non-consumers of these subclasses of flavonoids. On the other hand, high intake of anthocyanine- and flavanone-rich foods was found to have no significant effect on breast cancer risk. The findings of this meta-analysis suggest that high dietary ingestion of flavones, flavan-3-ols, and flavonols, but not total flavonoids, anthocyanines, and flavanones, may play an important role in protecting women, particularly post-menopausal women, from breast cancer.