Dietary intake of vitamin B(6) and risk of breast cancer in Taiwanese women

Background

B vitamins, including vitamin B₆, are coenzymes that are important for DNA integrity and stability. Deficiencies in B vitamins may promote tumor carcinogenesis.

Methods

We examined the association of dietary vitamin B₆ intake with overall breast cancer risk and breast cancers stratified by hormone receptor status. This case-control study included 391 breast cancer cases and 782 control subjects enrolled at the Tri-Service General Hospital in Taipei, Taiwan. Energy-adjusted intake of vitamin B₆ was derived from a food frequency questionnaire. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated using logistic regression.

Results

As compared with women in the lowest tertile, the multivariate-adjusted ORs for breast cancer among women in the second and highest tertiles of vitamin B₆ intake were 0.78 (95% CI, 0.64–2.52) and 0.64 (0.26–0.92), respectively. In addition, higher vitamin B₆ intake was associated with a significantly lower risk of developing ER-negative breast tumors.

Conclusions

Our findings suggest that higher intake of vitamin B₆ is associated with a reduction in breast cancer risk, particularly ER-negative tumors.Key words: breast cancer, ER-defined breast tumors, 1-carbon metabolism, vitamin B₆