Research appearing in the Annals of Oncology (2006; 17(2): 341-5) looked at the diets of 2,569 women with breast cancer and compared them to the diets of 2,588 women admitted to the hospital without cancer or any hormone-related conditions. The researchers found that there was a relation between the amount of refined sugar in the diet and the risk for developing breast cancer. The patients were interviewed and completed questionnaires about food intake. Logistic regression analysis was used to calculate breast cancer risk. It was found that women in the highest tertile of dessert intake (eating more than seven portions per week) had a 19% increase in the incidence of breast cancer when compared to women eating fewer than 2.5 dessert portions per week.