# Dietary polyunsaturated fatty acids and breast cancer risk in Chinese women: A prospective cohort study
Canonical: https://nutritionizm.com/research/10-1002-ijc-25703/
Last verified: 2026-10-26
Source: International Journal of Cancer (2010), DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/ijc.25703
License: USDA FoodData Central values are public domain (CC0 1.0); Nutritionizm compilation and plain-language text are licensed under CC BY 4.0 (attribution: link to Canonical URL).

## TL;DR

A study of Chinese women suggests that the balance between dietary fats, rather than individual fats alone, is linked to breast cancer risk.

## What they did

Researchers tracked 72,571 cancer-free women over 583,998 person-years of follow-up. Participants reported their typical food intake on questionnaires. Over time, the researchers identified 712 cases of breast cancer.

## What they found

Specific fats alone showed no link to cancer risk. However, researchers found a significant interaction between n-6 and marine n-3 fats with p = 0.008. Women with the lowest marine n-3 intake and highest n-6 intake had higher risk (RR = 2.06; 95% CI = 1.27-3.34).

## Why it matters

These findings suggest that the overall mix of fats in a diet may matter more than any single fat. Everyday food choices that balance different dietary fats may be linked to breast health.

## Limits

The abstract does not report specific study limitations. This is general education, not medical advice.

## Jargon explained

- **Polyunsaturated fatty acids**: Fats found in foods like fish, nuts, and seed oils that the body needs from food.
- **Relative risk**: A number that compares the chance of a health outcome between two groups.

## Full citation

Harvey J. Murff, Xiao‐Ou Shu, Honglan Li, Gong Yang, Xiauyan Wu, Hui Cai, Wanqing Wen, Yu-Tang Gao, Wei Zheng (2010). Dietary polyunsaturated fatty acids and breast cancer risk in Chinese women: A prospective cohort study. *International Journal of Cancer*. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/ijc.25703