Dietary intake of phytoestrogens and phytoestrogen-rich foods in relation to survival after breast cancer in postmenopausal women

Background: Phytoestrogens – plant-derived estrogenic substances present in various foods – have been associated with postmenopausal breast cancer risk, but not much is known regarding its effect on survival. Methods: A follow-up study (MARIEplus) was conducted in 3,464 German postmenopausal breast cancer patients aged 50–74 years and diagnosed between 2001 and 2005 from a population-based case-control study. Vital status was ascertained via local population registries up to the end of 2009, and deaths were verified by death certificates. A top and bottom energy cutoff of 0.5% was used. Hazard ratios (HR) and 95…