A trial looking at the role of diet, complementary treatment and lifestyle factors in breast cancer survival (DietCompLyf)

Please note this trial is no longer recruiting patients.

This trial aims to find out if diet, complementary therapies and lifestyle factors have an effect on breast cancer survival.

Breast cancer survival rates have improved in the United Kingdom over the last 10 years. But some other countries in Europe have higher survival rates. This could be because people report their symptoms earlier, or have their treatment in slightly different ways. Another reason for the difference in survival rates could be differences in factors such as diet and lifestyle.

Some researchers believe that a group of chemicals found in plants, called phytoestrogens may affect breast cancer risk. Phytoestrogens are similar in structure to a hormone called oestrogen. Phytoestrogens are found in soy products, fruit, vegetables, seeds, grains, wine, beer and some supplements usually taken for symptoms of the menopause.

There are some studies suggesting that phytoestrogens can lower the risk of breast cancer. For example, fewer women in Asia have breast cancer compared to the western world. This may be due to the fact that their diet includes a lot of soy. But some laboratory research and other studies looking at different groups of people show that eating certain types of phytoestrogen can encourage breast cancer cells to grow. Because these results disagree with each other, doctors want to find out more about how phytoestrogen really affects breast cancer growth.

Doctors also think that having healthy lifestyles and using complementary therapies may help improve survival in people with breast cancer. But so far there is little scientific evidence to support this. This study will look at the diet and lifestyle of 3,000 women with breast cancer. It aims to find out whether phytoestrogens, lifestyle factors and using supplements affect whether breast cancer comes back (recurs) or gets worse (progresses).

Recruitment

Start 01/01/2001

End 31/05/2010

Phase

Other

Who can enter

You can enter this trial if you

Have grade 1, 2 or 3 breast cancer (your breast cancer can be any stage)
Have recently finished initial treatment such as surgery, chemotherapy or radiotherapy
Have any hormone receptor status - in other words, have breast cancer that is oestrogen receptor (ER) positive or negative, or progesterone receptor (PR) positive or negative
Are aged between 15 and 75
Have a good understanding of English

You cannot enter this trial if you

Were diagnosed more than 15 months ago

Please note - You can talk to your doctor about taking part in this trial if your breast cancer diagnosis is recent or if you are still having treatment. But you won't be able to start the trial until you have finished your chemotherapy and, or radiotherapy.

Trial design

This trial will monitor diet and lifestyle factors of 3,000 women for 5 years. You will start the trial when you finish your initial treatment. This is usually about a year after diagnosis.

You will see a member of the trials team once a year for 5 years, starting about a year after your diagnosis. At each visit you will have some blood tests and urine tests. This is so they can measure the amounts of certain chemicals in your body. They will also give you questionnaires about your diet and lifestyle to fill in at home and post back to the hospital.

Five years after the last person joins the trial, the trial team will analyse the results to see if there are any links between diet and lifestyle factors, and recurrence or progression of breast cancer. So we are not likely to know the results for several years.

Hospital visits

You will not have to stay in hospital as a result of taking part in this trial. You will go to the hospital once a year to have blood and urine tests, and to collect a questionnaire to fill out at home.

The trial team will arrange these visits so that they are at the same time as your 'follow up' visits to see your own cancer specialist. So you won't have to make any extra trips to the hospital to take part in this trial.