Grant Details
Grant Number: |
3R01CA106606-05S1 Interpret this number |
Primary Investigator: |
Fang, Carolyn |
Organization: |
Fox Chase Cancer Center |
Project Title: |
Diet and Breast Density Over Time in Us Chinese Women |
Fiscal Year: |
2009 |
Abstract
Upon migration to the US, Chinese women undergo a transition to increased risk for breast cancer.
An understanding of lifestyle changes that occur over time in foreign-born Chinese American
women, such as changes in diet, could contribute to our understanding of how acculturative
changes, particularly in adulthood, affect breast cancer risk. Breast density represents an
especially useful marker of risk because of its strong association with breast cancer, and because
change in breast density over time may reflect the effects of recent behaviors and exposures. The
objectives of the proposed study are to characterize for the first time changes in diet and breast
density over time in first-generation Chinese American women, and to examine dietary and other
correlates of change in breast density. We will recruit 420 pre- or peri-menopausal Chinese
American women of screening mammography age with US residence <7 years. Data collection will
include baseline questionnaires on dietary intake, acculturation, and health and reproductive
histories; 4-day dietary recalls; anthropometric measures; serum insulin-like growth factor-l level;
and a screening mammogram assessed for breast density. Two follow-up measures of the same
factors will be obtained at 12- to 24-month intervals. Changes in diet, other behavioral factors, and
breast density will be described, as well as dietary and other correlates of breast density change.
The research team and the presence of a sizable Chinese American community in the Philadelphia
area offer a first opportunity to examine changes in diet and breast density over time in a unique
sample of first-generation Chinese American women. Findings will address the extent to which
acculturation-related lifestyle changes contribute to the transition in breast cancer risk experienced
by Chinese American women. They will also address the issue of modifiability of breast cancer risk
in women regardless of ethnicity by examining changes in risk factors during adulthood and by
identifying the specific factors of greatest importance.
Publications
None. See parent grant details.