Does olive oil consumption have a protective effect

against breast cancer risk in Mediterranean women?

Jessica Caricato

Abstract:
Breast cancer is a serious and ongoing problem in womens health. Many dietary and
lifestyle factors are thought to contribute to a womans risk of contracting breast cancer, and
many studies are dedicated to examining such factors. Researchers believe that an increased
consumption of olive oil has a protective effect against breast cancer risk. This is thought to be
true because olive oil contains a higher amount of phenolic compounds than is found in other
dietary fats, and these compounds have been shown to inhibit carcinogenesis. Mediterranean
populations are traditionally known for consuming more olive oil than other cultures, so many
studies exist which examine these populations and have found decreases in breast cancer risk
based on an increase in olive oil consumption. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the results
of twelve of these studies. The literature presented in this paper is largely focused on casecontrol and cohort studies, and all populations involved either belong to or are used for
comparison against Mediterranean countries, with a focus on Spain, Italy, and Greece. All but
one of the studies assessing a Mediterranean population report a decrease in breast cancer cases
based on olive oil consumption, and three studies found that this increase either solely assess or
solely find significant findings in postmenopausal women. Moving forward, it will be important
to research this association in other populations, particularly those known for consuming a diet
which differs drastically from what is considered traditionally Mediterranean. Until then, this
literature remains important, but cannot be considered universally applicable.