Fruit and vegetable intake and breast cancer prognosis: a meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies

The effect of fruit and vegetable intake on breast cancer prognosis is controversial. Thus, a meta-analysis was carried out to explore their associations. A comprehensive search was conducted in PubMed, Web of Science, OVID, ProQuest and Chinese databases from inception to April 2016. The summary hazard ratios (HR) and 95 % CI were estimated using a random effects model if substantial heterogeneity existed and using a fixed effects model if not. Subgroup analyses and sensitivity analyses were also performed. In total, twelve studies comprising 41 185 participants were included in the meta-analysis. Comparing the highest with the lowest, the summary HR for all-cause mortality were 1·01 (95 % CI 0·72, 1·42) for fruits and vegetables combined, 0·96 (95 % CI 0·83, 1·12) for total vegetable intake, 0·99 (95 % CI 0·89, 1·11) for cruciferous vegetable intake and 0·88 (95 % CI 0·74, 1·05) for fruit intake; those for breast cancer-specific mortality were 1·05 (95 % CI 0·77, 1·43) for total vegetable intake and 0·94 (95 % CI 0·69, 1·26) for fruit intake; and those for breast cancer recurrence were 0·89 (95 % CI 0·53, 1·50) for total vegetable intake and 0·98 (95 % CI 0·76, 1·26) for cruciferous vegetable intake. This meta-analysis found no significant associations between fruit and vegetable intake and breast cancer prognosis.