What should triple negative breast cancer patients and survivors eat?

Up to 20 percent of invasive breast cancers are classified as triple negative, which refers to the fact that the cancer is estrogen receptor negative (ER-), progesterone receptor negative (ER-), and HER2/neu negative. In other words, triple negative breast cancers do not express receptors for estrogen or progesterone and do not overexpress HER2. Triple negative breast cancer is also classified as basal-like breast cancer by some researchers. Women diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer are more likely to be premenopausal than women with hormone receptor positive breast cancer. Treatments or foods that reduce the production of estrogen or block its effects in the body are not useful for this type of breast cancer. Women with metabolic syndrome are more likely to have triple negative breast cancer upon diagnosis than women without it.

The studies concerning diet or specific foods that relate to triple negative cancer focus on hormone receptor status; HER2/neu status tends to be studied separately. However, the information concerning ER-/PR- breast cancer and diet is likely to be relevant to triple negative breast cancer since HER2- is the "normal" state (see also our web page on HER2+ breast cancer if you have ER-/PR-/HER2+ breast cancer). There are specific foods that have been found to be associated with lower risk of this type of breast cancer and some that are associated with higher risk.

Foods that reduce the risk of triple negative or ER-/PR- breast cancer

The following foods and spices have been found to be associated with reduced risk of triple negative or ER-/PR- breast cancer:

Cabbage, including bok choy

One study reported that breast cancer patients with suboptimal levels (under 32 ng/mL) of vitamin D were three times more likely to develop triple negative breast cancer than patients with optimal levels. In other words, low vitamin D appears to increase the aggressiveness of breast cancer that develops.

Foods that increase the risk of ER-/PR- breast cancer

The following foods have the potential to increase the risk of ER-/PR- breast cancer:

Bacon and other processed meats

Beef

Coffee (for premenopausal women, unless BRCA1 or BRCA2 carrier - see the coffee web page)

Fructose has also been shown to induce changes in triple negative breast cancer cells that may increase their aggressiveness, suggesting that patients should avoid beverages and other processed foods sweetened with fructose.

Foods that can help reduce or regulate blood sugar and insulin levels

The foods below have been shown to help regulate glucose, increase insulin sensitivity and/or reduce circulating insulin levels while also protecting against breast cancer. Consuming such foods may help reduce the likelihood or extent of metabolic syndrome.

Additional comments

It is important for triple negative breast cancer patients and survivors to eat a wide variety of the foods on our recommended food list and limit or avoid those on our avoid list, in addition to paying particular attention to the foods on the lists above.

Food for Breast Cancer triple negative breast cancer articles

Below are links to all of the other articles concerning triple negative breast cancer.

Triple negative breast cancer

Latest research concerning triple negative breast cancer prognosis

Prognosis of triple negative breast cancer compared to other breast cancer subtypes

Patterns of recurrence in triple negative breast cancer patients

Tumor characteristics influencing prognosis of triple negative breast cancer

Prognosis of African Americans and Latinas with triple negative breast cancer

Influence of BMI, metabolic syndrome and diabetes on triple negative breast cancer prognosis

Triple negative breast cancer prognosis according to age at diagnosis

To see all of the news stories and studies concerning triple negative breast cancer, click on the tripleNegative tag in the list of tags directly below.

Tags: alcohol, antidepressants, apples, arugula, basalBreastCancer, basil, bellPeppers, blackberries, blueberries, bokChoy, boysenberries, broccoli, brusselsSprouts, cabbage, cadmium, calcium, cauliflower, celery, coffee, collardGreens, cornOil, cranberries, dryBeans, fiber, flaxseed, garlic, grapes, greens, greenTea, herring, hormoneReceptorNegative, horseradish, hotPeppers, kale, lamb, mackerel, mangoes, metabolicSyndrome, mushrooms, mustard, olive, overweight, parsley, peas, pomegranates, processedMeat, pumpkin, raspberries, reishiTea, rice, safflowerOil, saffron, salmon, sardines, seaweed, serotonin, soybeanOil, soybeans, statins, sunflowerOil, tomatoes, tripleNegative, tripleNegativeArtcles, turmeric, type2Diabetes, walnuts, watercress

Selected breast cancer studies

The Association Between Breast Cancer Prognostic Indicators and Serum 25-OH Vitamin D Levels Repression of Mammosphere Formation of Human Breast Cancer Cells by Soy Isoflavone Genistein and Blueberry Polyphenolic Acids Quinones and halogenated monoterpenes of algal origin show anti-proliferative effects against breast cancer cells in vitro Influence of Calcitriol on Prostaglandin- and Vitamin D-metabolising Enzymes in Benign and Malignant Breast Cell Lines 4-Shogaol, an active constituent of dietary ginger, inhibits metastasis of MDA-MB-231 human breast adenocarcinoma cells by decreasing the repression of NF-kappa B/Snail on RKIP Dietary Intakes of Total and Specific Lignans Are Associated with Clinical Breast Tumor Characteristics Phthalates induce proliferation and invasiveness of estrogen receptor-negative breast cancer through the AhR/HDAC6/c-Myc signaling pathway Fucoidan Extract Induces Apoptosis in MCF-7 Cells via a Mechanism Involving the ROS-Dependent JNK Activation and Mitochondria-Mediated Pathways Exposure to cadmium chloride influences astrocyte-elevated gene-1 (AEG-1) expression in MDA-MB231 human breast cancer cells Folate intake and breast cancer mortality in a cohort of Swedish women Whole Blueberry Powder Modulates the Growth and Metastasis of MDA-MB-231 Triple Negative Breast Tumors in Nude Mice Serum Enterolactone and Prognosis of Postmenopausal Breast Cancer Omega-3 docosahexaenoic acid prevents breast cancer-induced bone metastasis and osteolysis in nude mice Low-Carbohydrate Diets, Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension-Style Diets, and the Risk of Postmenopausal Breast Cancer Coffee intake and breast cancer risk in the NIH-AARP diet and health cohort study Induction of apoptotic cell death by ursolic acid through mitochondrial death pathway and extrinsic death receptor pathway in MDA-MB-231 cells Polyphenol-rich seaweed (Eucheuma cottonii) extract suppresses breast tumour via hormone modulation and apoptosis induction Effect of dietary fiber intake on breast cancer risk according to estrogen and progesterone receptor status Smoking and alcohol consumption in relation to risk of triple-negative breast cancer in a cohort of postmenopausal women The Association between Prognostic Demographic and Tumor Characteristics of Breast Carcinomas with Serum 25-OH Vitamin D Levels A synergistic antiproliferation effect of curcumin and docosahexaenoic acid in SK-BR-3 breast cancer cells: unique signaling not explained by the effects of either compound alone Dietary patterns and risk of breast cancer Vitamin D Deficiency is Correlated with Poor Outcomes in Patients with Luminal-type Breast Cancer Anticancer Activities of an Anthocyanin-Rich Extract From Black Rice Against Breast Cancer Cells In Vitro and In Vivo Fruit and Vegetable Intake in Relation to Risk of Breast Cancer in the Black Womens Health Study Fructose as a carbon source induces an aggressive phenotype in MDA-MB-468 breast tumor cells p53-Independent Apoptosis by Benzyl Isothiocyanate in Human Breast Cancer Cells Is Mediated by Suppression of XIAP Expression Blueberry Phytochemicals Inhibit Growth and Metastatic Potential of MDA-MB-231 Breast Cancer Cells through Modulation of the Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinase Pathway Vitamin D Deficiency Promotes Human Breast Cancer Growth in a Murine Model of Bone Metastasis Punicic acid is an omega-5 fatty acid capable of inhibiting breast cancer proliferation Resveratrol enhances the sensitivity of doxorubicin-mediated cell proliferation, invasion, and migration in human breast cancer cell lines The association of metabolic syndrome with triple-negative breast cancer Capsaicin causes cell-cycle arrest and apoptosis in ER-positive and -negative breast cancer cells by modulating the EGFR/HER-2 pathway Curcumin inhibits cell proliferation of MDA-MB-231 and BT-483 breast cancer cells mediated by down-regulation of NFκB, cyclinD and MMP-1 transcription Dietary fiber intake and risk of breast cancer in postmenopausal women: the National Institutes of Health-AARP Diet and Health Study Alcohol and Risk of Breast Cancer by Histologic Type and Hormone Receptor Status in Postmenopausal Women Curcumin Suppresses the Paclitaxel-Induced Nuclear Factor-[kappa]B in Breast Cancer Cells and Potentiates the Growth Inhibitory Effect of Paclitaxel in a Breast Cancer Nude Mice Model Phenolics from mango (Mangifera indica L.) suppress growth in different cancer cells, targeting pro-apoptotic and cell cycle control proteins Long-term dietary calcium intake and breast cancer risk in a prospective cohort of women Indole-3-carbinol inhibits MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cell motility and induces stress fibers and focal adhesion formation by activation of Rho kinase activity Apple Phytochemical Extracts Inhibit Proliferation of Estrogen-Dependent and Estrogen-Independent Human Breast Cancer Cells through Cell Cycle Modulation Caffeine consumption and the risk of breast cancer in a large prospective cohort of women Benzyl Isothiocyanate Targets Mitochondrial Respiratory Chain to Trigger Reactive Oxygen Species-dependent Apoptosis in Human Breast Cancer Cells Cucurbitacin B has a potent antiproliferative effect on breast cancer cells in vitro and in vivo Dietary Phytoestrogens Are Not Associated with Risk of Overall Breast Cancer But Diets Rich in Coumestrol Are Inversely Associated with Risk of Estrogen Receptor and Progesterone Receptor Negative Breast Tumors in Swedish Women [6]-Gingerol inhibits metastasis of MDA-MB-231 human breast cancer cells The anti-metastatic effect of the chemopreventive polyphenol Curcumin - in vitro and in vivo studies on the molecular mechanisms Resveratrol inhibits migration and invasion of human breast-cancer cells Cell proliferation of feline and human breast cancer cell types is inhibited by pomegranate juice S-Allylcysteine reduces breast tumor cell adhesion and invasion Effects of Resveratrol On Triple Negative (ER-, PR-, HER2-) Breast Cancer Cells Docosahexaenoic acid increases doxorubicin’s cytotoxicity against breast cancer cell lines Apigenin augments the growth inhibitory effects of doxorubicin in breast cancer cells derived from African American patients Combined effect of green tea and Ganoderma lucidum on invasive behavior of breast cancer cells Prevention of mammary tumorigenesis by aqueous and lipid pomegranate fruit extracts (PFE's): In vitro and in vivo studies Anthocyanin-rich berry extracts and epigallocatechin gallate reduce the enhanced invasiveness of estrogen-negative human breast carcinoma cells elicited by serum Sulforaphane induces cell type-specific apoptosis in human breast cancer cell lines Inhibition of breast cancer cell proliferation by style constituents of different Crocus species Seaweed as chemoprevention: From breast cancer epidemiology to breast cancer cell culture The rice bran constituent tricin delays mammary carcinogenesis in the C3(1)/SV40 T/t-antigen transgenic (Tag) mouse Indole-3-carbinol-induced death in cancer cells involves EGFR downregulation and is exacerbated in a 3D environment Inhibition of breast cancer progression by a medicinal herb Ocimum sanctum Protective effect of saffron (Crocus sativus L.) aqueous extract against genetic damage induced by anti-tumor agents in mice Broccoli and watercress suppress matrix metalloproteinase-9 activity and invasiveness of human MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells Modulation of multidrug resistance and apoptosis of cancer cells by selected carotenoids Chemopreventive and adjuvant therapeutic potential of pomegranate (Punica granatum) for human breast cancer Growth inhibitory effects of diallyl disulfide on human breast cancer cell lines Effects of gamma-linolenic acid and oleic acid on paclitaxel cytotoxicity in human breast cancer cells << Previous Top Next >>