The current webpage is designed to make additional research available concerning how various vegetables and vegetable components influence lobular breast cancer risk, development, growth and prognosis. Below are links to studies relating to the beneficial vegetables listed in Foods to eat and avoid for lobular breast cancer patients & survivors.
There are very few studies that directly investigate the influence of vegetables or micronutrients on lobular breast cancer since there are no experimental lobular breast cancer cells. Dietary, but not supplemental, beta-carotene (found, for example, in broccoli, butternut squash and carrots) and dietary fiber each have been reported to prevent lobular breast cancer. Adherence to the Mediterranean diet has also been reported to reduce the risk of lobular breast cancer more than the risk of ductal breast cancer.
Since lobular breast cancer typically is characterized by greatly reduced expression of E-cadherin (a protein that facilitates cell-to-cell adhesion), vegetable consumption can inhibit lobular disease through the actions of micronutrients that increase E-cadherin expression, among them beta-carotene, capsaicin (hot peppers), cucurbitacins (cucumbers, pumpkins, squash), lycopene (bell peppers, red or orange; tomatoes), melatonin (mustard), oleuropein (olive oil & olives), and quercetin (hot peppers; lettuce, romaine; onions, spring or green).
In addition, cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli oppose lobular breast cancer through the actions of sulfur-containing compounds which also increase E-cadherin expression, including allyl isothiocyanate (AITC), benzyl isothiocyanate (BITC), and phenethyl isothiocyanate (PEITC), as well as sulforaphane, I3C and DIM.
Those with lobular breast cancer can also view additional studies concerning vegetables that pertain to their receptor type: Vegetables and ER+/PR+ breast cancer, Vegetables and triple negative breast cancer and Vegetables and HER2+ breast cancer.
Vegetable micronutrients should be obtained by eating vegetables rather than taking supplements. When a beneficial micronutrient is administered at low doses by consuming food, it is likely to have subtle chemopreventive effects, whereas the same compound administered at high doses is more likely to have pharmacological effects, with possible unwanted outcomes. For example, quercetin has been reported to contribute to the growth of estrogen-induced mammary tumors, but only once the tumors were established in female rats.