Environmental factors and breast and prostatic cancer.

Despite epidemiological evidence supporting a causal relationship between environmental factors and the development of breast and prostatic cancers, direct confirmation is unproven. Differences in hormone profiles in cancer patients and in patients with an increasing number of potential risk factors together with differences n life style and diet, suggest a relationship between diet, hormonal metabolism, and these endocrine-associated cancers. Modification of hormonal status by diet in men and women at different risk suggests that specific dietary components play a major role in these diseases.