A link between fast-food consumption by adolescent girls and breast cancer

A prominent physician is calling for nutritional guidelines for adolescent girls to reduce processed and fast-food consumption during puberty to prevent future breast cancer.

Dr. Steven Quay, CEO of Atossa Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: ATOS), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing novel therapeutics for oncology and infectious diseases, published a paper that highlighted research that showed a link between consumption of a particular set of chemicals produced by the high temperatures used to fry or grill foods that have a high level of sugars and the induction of pre-cancerous changes during pubertal breast development.

Quay recommended that school food program decrease meals with fast-food toxins, called AGE products, as well as an educational program for pediatricians and parents on the dangers of fast-food during this vulnerable development period for girls. He estimated that lifestyle and diet changes could have a significant impact on reducing the 250,000 breast cancers that are diagnosed each year in this country.

“While breast cancer treatment is one of the most advanced and successful protocols in oncology, prevention of the disease is the next goal, an outcome that would transform women’s health,” said Quay. “Decades ago, I formulated a hypothesis that the seeds of future breast cancer are sown during puberty, when the breast is undergoing development. Breast development during puberty produces a vulnerable window of several years of time. Any environmental insult, including excessive chest x-rays or the toxic products from fast-food cooking, can be amplified if it occurs during puberty. The understanding of this link between breast development and future breast cancer should be used to inform nutritional guidelines for adolescent girls.”