Dietary and Chemoprevention Strategies for Breast Cancer Prevention.

: Breast cancer is the most common cancer among American women. Strategies to eliminate or cure invasive breast cancer (eg, treatment of established disease and early detection) have been joined by a promising new approach, prevention. Epidemiologic studies have yet to demonstrate that dietary modification can reduce the risk of breast cancer, but important trials are ongoing. The chemoprevention program of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) has been underway for a decade. The discovery of biomarkers, or "intermediate endpoints," that can serve as surrogates for the ultimate endpoint, breast cancer, is crucial to the success of this program. The chemoprevention programs of NCI and the Division of Cancer Prevention and Control have identified promising cancer prevention compounds, many of which are being studied in clinical trials.