Connecticut Challenge

There are two important research developments of which survivors should be aware.

(1) Young adults who were diagnosed with leukemia, brain cancer, Hodgkin’s lymphoma, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, kidney cancer, bone cancer, or a neuroblastoma might be at a significantly higher risk for heart disease. A huge study of over 14,000 adult survivors of these cancers and over 3000 of the survivors’ siblings suggests that the survivors are at serious risk for heart failure, heart attack, heart inflammation, and heart valve abnormalities – and that risk is probably serious for up to 30 years after the treatment and diagnosis. Survivors of childhood cancers should be sure to check in with their primary care physician, and they should discuss with those physicians the possibility of cardiovascular complications and ways to reduce the risk of harmful cardiovascular health outcomes. Here is a link to more study information

(2) Breast cancer survivors who pay attention to research know that the benefits and harms of soy intake after a breast cancer diagnosis has been widely debated. Research has produced conflicting recommendations. Some studies have found that soy reduces risk of recurrent and incident breast cancer, but others have suggested that the soy compound, isoflavone, helps breast cancer cells grow in the lab and promotes tumor growth in animals. A new study on the topic was published this week. The most recent study suggests that soy might even be protective for breast cancer survivors.

So with all this conflict, what should breast cancer survivors do? I mean, on the one hand, soy could be helpful, and on the other hand, it could be harmful. It’s not like one option is bad or good and the alternate option is null. Well, I have bad news – we don’t know the answer yet – medical professionals are split in their opinions. What I can offer is a bit more information – or at least a bit more explanation: The studies that suggest protective effects of soy are population-based. That means that the researchers studied groups of women who either did or did not ingest soy, and they examined those groups with respect to breast cancer. On the other hand, the studies that suggest harmful effects, were (to my knowledge) only in animal tissue. This means that the researchers added soy to breast cancer tumor tissue (in a lab) and watched what happened. Apparently, the tumor tissue grew more rapidly with the help of the soy.

There is further confusion over the difference between soy foods and soy supplements. Even the proponents of soy are clear that they can’t make inferences regarding the effects of soy supplements because the population studies have studied only soy-containing foods and not soy supplements.

User Comments

#8 - Posted by Julia - 12/9/2009 7:34:42 PM Report Abuse

I am wary of supplements in general. How many times have you heard news reports of studies touting certain vitamins and supplements as preventative, only to have those studies countered by other studies. I would personally stay away from soy while the debate rages. I wonder though, have there been studies looking at the effects of soy on breast cancer that are race specific? If you look at the number of white/hispanic/african american women with breast cancer, compared to alaskan/indian and pacific islanders, there are significantly fewer cases of breast cancer among the latter groups. It would seem to me that that dietary factors play a role here. The diets of the latter group being, at least anecdotally from a layperson, lower in saturated fat and processed foods and higher perhaps in foods containing other beneficial nutrients. What is the consumption rate of soy products in Asian women, compared to American White/Latino/African American women, and do Asian women have a lower rate of breast cancer incidence?

Young Adult Survivor's Heart Risks and The Ping-Pong Soy Issue

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