Diet and lifestyle produce major effects on tumour incidence, prevalence, and natural history. Moderate dietary restriction has long been recognised as a natural therapy that improves health, promotes longevity, and reduces both the incidence and growth of many tumour types. Dietary restriction differs from fasting or starvation by reducing total food and caloric intake without causing nutritional deficiencies. No prior studies have evaluated the responsiveness of malignant brain cancer to dietary restriction. We found that a moderate dietary restriction of 30 -40% significantly inhibited the intracerebral growth of the CT-2A syngeneic malignant mouse astrocytoma by almost 80%. The total dietary intake for the ad libitum control group (n=9) and the dietary restriction experimental group (n=10) was about 20 and 13 Kcal day 71 , respectively. Overall health and vitality was better in the dietary restriction-fed mice than in the ad libitum-fed mice. Tumour microvessel density (Factor VIII immunostaining) was two-fold less in the dietary restriction mice than in the ad libitum mice, whereas the tumour apoptotic index (TUNEL assay) was three-fold greater in the dietary restriction mice than in the ad libitum mice. CT-2A tumour cellinduced vascularity was also less in the dietary restriction mice than in the ad libitum mice in the in vivo Matrigel plug assay. These findings indicate that dietary restriction inhibited CT-2A growth by reducing angiogenesis and by enhancing apoptosis. Dietary restriction may shift the tumour microenvironment from a proangiogenic to an antiangiogenic state through multiple effects on the tumour cells and the tumour-associated host cells. Our data suggest that moderate dietary restriction may be an effective antiangiogenic therapy for recurrent malignant brain cancers.

PurposeData suggest that circulating 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] interacts with the vitamin D receptor (VDR) to decrease proliferation and increase apoptosis for some malignancies, although evidence for prostate cancer is less clear. How VDR expression in tumor tissue may influence prostate cancer progression has not been evaluated in large studies.Patients and MethodsWe examined protein expression of VDR in tumor tissue among 841 patients with prostate cancer in relation to risk of lethal prostate cancer within two prospective cohorts, the Physicians' Health Study and Health Professionals Follow-Up Study. We also examined the association of VDR expression with prediagnostic circulating 25(OH)D and 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D levels and with two VDR single nucleotide polymorphisms, FokI and BsmI.ResultsMen whose tumors had high VDR expression had significantly lower prostate-specific antigen (PSA) at diagnosis (P for trend < .001), lower Gleason score (P for trend < .001), and less advanced tumor stage (P for trend < .001) and were more likely to have tumors harboring the TMPRSS2:ERG fusion (P for trend = .009). Compared with the lowest quartile, men whose tumors had the highest VDR expression had significantly reduced risk of lethal prostate cancer (hazard ratio [HR], 0.17; 95% CI, 0.07 to 0.41). This association was only slightly attenuated after adjustment for Gleason score and PSA at diagnosis (HR, 0.33; 95% CI, 0.13 to 0.83) or, additionally, for tumor stage (HR, 0.37; 95% CI, 0.14 to 0.94). Neither prediagnostic plasma vitamin D levels nor VDR polymorphisms were associated with VDR expression.ConclusionHigh VDR expression in prostate tumors is associated with a reduced risk of lethal cancer, suggesting a role of the vitamin D pathway in prostate cancer progression.

We observed a strong inverse association between coffee consumption and risk of lethal prostate cancer. The association appears to be related to non-caffeine components of coffee.

GM1 gangliosidosis is a glycosphingolipid (GSL) lysosomal storage disease caused by a genetic deficiency of acid b-galactosidase (b-gal), the enzyme that catabolyzes GM1 within lysosomes. Accumulation of GM1 and its asialo form (GA1) occurs primarily in the brain, leading to progressive neurodegeneration and brain dysfunction. Substrate reduction therapy aims to decrease the rate of GSL biosynthesis to counterbalance the impaired rate of catabolism. The imino sugar N-butyldeoxygalactonojirimycin (N B-DGJ) is a competitive inhibitor of the ceramide-specific glucosyltransferase that catalyzes the first step in GSL biosynthesis. Neonatal C57BL/6J (B6) and b-gal knockout (-/-) mice were injected daily from post-natal day 2 (p-2) to p-5 with either vehicle or N B-DGJ at 600 mg or 1200 mg/kg body weight. These drug concentrations significantly reduced total brain ganglioside and GM1 content in the B6 and the b-gal (-/-) mice. Drug treatment had no significant effect on viability, body weight, brain weight, or brain water content in the B6 and b-gal (-/-) mice. Significant elevations in neutral lipids (GA1, ceramide, and sphingomyelin) were observed in the N B-DGJ-treated b-gal (-/-) mice, but were not associated with adverse effects. Also, N B-DGJ treatment of B6 and b-gal (-/-) mice from p-2 to p-5 had no subsequent effect on brain ganglioside content at p-21. Our results show that N B-DGJ is effective in reducing total brain ganglioside and GM1 content at early neonatal ages. These findings suggest that substrate reduction therapy using N B-DGJ may be an effective early intervention for GM1 gangliosidosis and possibly other GSL lysosomal storage diseases.

Background Whether milk and dairy intake after a prostate cancer diagnosis is associated with a poorer prognosis is unknown. We investigated post-diagnostic milk and dairy intake in relation to risk of lethal prostate cancer (metastases and prostate cancer death) among participants in the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study. Methods The cohort consisted of 3,918 men diagnosed with apparently localized prostate cancer between 1986 and 2006, and followed to 2008. Data on milk and dairy intake were available from repeated questionnaires. We used Cox proportional hazards models to calculate hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) of the association between post-diagnostic milk and dairy intake and prostate cancer outcomes. Results We ascertained 229 prostate cancer deaths and an additional 69 metastases during follow-up. In multivariate analysis, total milk and dairy intakes after diagnosis were not associated with a greater risk of lethal prostate cancer. Men with the highest versus lowest intake of whole milk were at an increased risk of progression (HR 2.15; 95% CI: 1.28-3.60; P trend<0.01). Men in the highest versus lowest quintile of low-fat dairy intake were at a decreased risk of progression (HR 0.62; 95% CI: 0.40-0.95; P trend=0.07). Conclusions With the exception of whole milk, our results suggest that milk and dairy intake after a prostate cancer diagnosis is not associated with an increased risk of lethal prostate cancer. Impact This is the first larger prospective study investigating the relation between post-diagnostic milk and dairy intake and risk of lethal prostate cancer.

Background Over-expression of prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) in tumor tissue and serum has been linked to increased risk of biochemical recurrence in surgically treated prostate cancer patients, but no studies have assessed its association with disease-specific mortality. Methods We examined whether high PSMA protein expression in prostate tumor tissue was associated with lethal disease, and with tumor biomarkers of progression, among participants of two US-based cohorts (n=902, diagnosed 1983–2004). We used Cox proportional hazards regression to calculate multivariable hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) of lethal prostate cancer, defined as disease-specific death or development of distant metastases (n=95). Partial Spearman rank correlation coefficients were used to correlate PSMA with tumor biomarkers. Results During an average 13 years of follow-up, higher PSMA expression at prostatectomy was significantly associated with lethal prostate cancer (age-adjusted HRQuartile(Q)4vs.Q1=2.42; p-trend<0.01). This association was attenuated and non-significant (multivariable-adjusted HRQ4vs.Q1=1.01; p-trend=0.52) after further adjusting for Gleason score and PSA at diagnosis. High PSMA expression was significantly (p<0.05) correlated with higher Gleason score and PSA at diagnosis, increased tumor angiogenesis, lower vitamin D receptor and androgen receptor expression, and absence of ERG expression. Conclusions High tumor PSMA expression was not an independent predictor of lethal prostate cancer in the current study. PSMA expression likely captures, in part, malignant features of Gleason grade and tumor angiogenesis. Impact PSMA is not a strong candidate biomarker for predicting prostate cancer-specific mortality in surgically treated patients.

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BackgroundLaboratory evidence suggests that vitamin D might influence prostate cancer prognosis.Methodology/Principal FindingsWe examined the associations between prediagnostic plasma levels of 25(OH)vitamin D [25(OH)D] and 1,25(OH)2vitamin D [1,25(OH)2D] and mortality among 1822 participants of the Health Professionals Follow-up Study and Physicians' Health Study who were diagnosed with prostate cancer. Cox proportional hazards models were used to calculate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of total mortality (n = 595) and lethal prostate cancer (death from prostate cancer or development of bone metastases; n = 202). In models adjusted for age at diagnosis, BMI, physical activity, and smoking, we observed a HR of 1.22 (95% CI: 0.97, 1.54) for total mortality, comparing men in the lowest to the highest quartile of 25(OH)D. There was no association between 1,25(OH)2D and total mortality. Men with the lowest 25(OH)D quartile were more likely to die of their cancer (HR: 1.59; 95% CI: 1.06, 2.39) compared to those in the highest quartile (Ptrend = 0.006). This association was largely explained by the association between low 25(OH)D levels and advanced cancer stage and higher Gleason score, suggesting that these variables may mediate the influence of 25(OH)D on prognosis. The association also tended to be stronger among patients with samples collected within five years of cancer diagnosis. 1,25(OH)2D levels were not associated with lethal prostate cancer.Conclusions/SignificanceAlthough potential bias of less advanced disease due to more screening activity among men with high 25(OH)D levels cannot be ruled out, higher prediagnostic plasma 25(OH)D might be associated with improved prostate cancer prognosis.