SynthesisPloS one2014
Folate intake and the risk of breast cancer: a dose-response meta-analysis of prospective studies.
Synthesis in PloS one, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 31 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
31 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 60 citations in OpenAlex.
- Folate and global health umbrella review series, part 2: syntheses on cancers.Journal of global health · 2026Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Association Between Folate and Health Outcomes: An Umbrella Review of Meta-Analyses.Frontiers in public health · 2020Pooled it
- Folate intake and the risk of breast cancer: an up-to-date meta-analysis of prospective studies.European journal of clinical nutrition · 2019Pooled it
- Association between folate intake and risk of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma: An overall and dose-response PRISMA meta-analysis.Medicine · 2017Pooled it
- Folate-targeted gold nanoparticles for doxorubicin delivery in tumor spheroids.Drug delivery · 2026Article
- Pro-Carcinogenic Implications of Folic Acid Supplementation During Chemically Induced Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma in Mice.Journal of biochemical and molecular toxicology · 2026Article
- Folic acid deficiency in cancer therapy: a review of chemotherapy-induced malabsorption and supportive care strategies.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2026Review
- B vitamins intake and cancer risk: a structured narrative review of evidence on riboflavin, pyridoxine, cobalamin and folate.Pathology oncology research : POR · 2026Review
- The Impact of Microbiome on Breast Cancer and Regulatory Strategies.Microorganisms · 2025Review
- Consumption of methyl donor nutrients and incidence of obesity: is the association influenced by parent's obesity? Results of 4 years of follow-up of the CUME study.International journal of obesity (2005) · 2025Article
- Biological, dietetic and pharmacological properties of vitamin BNPJ science of food · 2025Review
- Recent Advances on the Role of B Vitamins in Cancer Prevention and Progression.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- Review
- Folic acid: friend or foe in cancer therapy.The Journal of international medical research · 2024Review
- Uncovering the Hidden Dangers and Molecular Mechanisms of Excess Folate: A Narrative Review.Nutrients · 2023Review
- Dietary Methyl-Group Donor Intake and Breast Cancer Risk in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC).Nutrients · 2021Article
- Cancer Progress and Priorities: Breast Cancer.Cancer epidemiology, biomarkers & prevention : a publication of the American Association for Cancer Research, cosponsored by the American Society of Preventive Oncology · 2021Review
- The influence of obesity on folate status, DNA methylation and cancer-related gene expression in normal breast tissues from premenopausal women.Epigenetics · 2021Article
- Effect of Breast Cancer Treatment on Dietary Vitamin Intake Levels.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundPrevious observational studies regarding the existence of an association between folate intake and the risk of breast cancer have been inconsistent. This study aimed to summarize the evidence regarding this relationship using a dose-response meta-analytic approach. METHODOLOGY AND PRINCIPAL
findingsWe performed electronic searches of the PubMed, EmBase, and Cochrane Library databases to identify studies published through June 2013. Only prospective observational studies that reported breast cancer effect estimates with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for more than 2 folate intake categories were included. We excluded traditional case-control studies because of possible bias from various confounding factors. Overall, we included 14 prospective studies that reported data on 677,858 individuals. Folate intake had little effect on the breast cancer risk (relative risk (RR) for highest versus lowest category = 0.97; 95% CI, 0.90-1.05; P = 0.451). Dose-response meta-analysis also suggested that a 100 µg/day increase in folate intake had no significant effect on the risk of breast cancer (RR = 0.99; 95% CI, 0.98-1.01; P = 0.361). Furthermore, we used restricted cubic splines to evaluate the nonlinear relationship between folate intake and the risk of breast cancer, and discovered a potential J-shaped correlation between folate intake and breast cancer risk (P = 0.007) and revealed that a daily folate intake of 200-320 µg was associated with a lower breast cancer risk; however, the breast cancer risk increased significantly with a daily folate intake >400 µg. CONCLUSION/SIGNIFICANCE: Our study revealed that folate intake had little or no effect on the risk of breast cancer; moreover, a dose-response meta-analysis suggested a J-shaped association between folate intake and breast cancer.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.