Healthiest Diet Made Little Difference to Breast Cancer Survivors

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"These were healthy breast cancer survivors who were already eating at least five servings of fruits and vegetables. We wanted to know what happened when you really ramped that up. Some women ate 12 or more servings of fruits and vegetables a day," Pierce said.

Throughout the study, the women were periodically asked to recall their diet in the past 24 hours. The researchers also checked for changes in certain substances in the blood that indicate fruit and vegetable intake. The average follow-up time was 7.3 years.

After four years, the researchers found that vegetable intake had increased in the intervention group by 65 percent, while fruit consumption was up by 25 percent. Fiber intake was also increased, by as much as 30 percent, and fat intake was down 13 percent.

Yet, during the study period, there were no statistically significant differences in the rates of breast cancer recurrence. During the study period, 16.7 percent of women in the intervention group vs. 16.9 percent of women in the comparison group received a diagnosis of invasive breast cancer.

There were also no statistically significant differences in mortality. In the intervention group, 10.1 percent of the women died compared to 10.3 percent in the comparison group.

Does that mean eating well won't help prevent cancer from returning?

"For women with breast cancer, the answer is out on whether or not there's a single constituent in the diet that will help. But, for overall health, maintaining a healthy weight and eating a healthy diet is always good," said the co-author of an accompanying editorial, Susan Gapstur, associate director of cancer prevention and control for the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center at Northwestern University in Chicago.

Gapstur pointed out that the women in the study weren't able to meet the suggested reduction in fat intake. Additionally, she said that there appeared to be some discrepancy in the number of calories consumed. By the end of the study, the average number of reported calories consumed in the intervention group was 180 less per day. Gapstur said that such a change would have resulted in weight loss instead of the slight increase that the women experienced.