Dr Kotryna Temcinaite, Senior Research Communications Manager at Breast Cancer Now, said:
“Many different factors affect how likely someone is to be diagnosed with breast cancer including age, lifestyle, genes and environment.
"With around 55,000 women and 370 men diagnosed with breast cancer in the UK each year, we urgently need to find new ways to prevent this devastating disease.
“While many studies have looked into if dairy products influence breast cancer risk, further research is needed before we can draw significant conclusions.
"This new analysis of existing studies provides helpful insight into this complicated issue.
"It suggests that consuming dairy could lower the risk of breast cancer. And it highlights the further need to identify what components of dairy might have a risk-reducing effect on breast cancer - and to understand the biological reasons for this.
“Anyone who is concerned about their breast cancer risk can call Breast Cancer Now’s free Helpline on 0808 800 6000 to talk to one of our expert nurses.”