Alcohol and Prostate Cancer: Time to Draw Conclusions

Abstract

It has been a long-standing debate in the research and medical societies whether alcohol consumption is linked to the risk of prostate cancer (PCa). Many comprehensive studies from different geographical areas and nationalities have shown that moderate and heavy drinking is positively correlated with the development of PCa. Nevertheless, some observations could not confirm that such a correlation exists; some even suggest that wine consumption could prevent or slow prostate tumor growth. Here, we have rigorously analyzed the evidence both for and against the role of alcohol in PCa development. We found that many of the epidemiological studies did not consider other, potentially critical, factors, including diet (especially, low intake of fish, vegetables and linoleic acid, and excessive use of red meat), smoking, family history of PCa, low physical activity, history of high sexual activities especially with early age of first intercourse, and sexually transmitted infections. In addition, discrepancies between observations come from selectivity criteria for control groups, questionnaires about the type and dosage of alcohol, and misreported alcohol consumption. The lifetime history of alcohol consumption is critical given that a prostate tumor is typically slow-growing; however, many epidemiological observations that show no association monitored only current or relatively recent drinking status. Nevertheless, the overall conclusion is that high alcohol intake, especially binge drinking, is associated with increased risk for PCa, and this effect is not limited to any type of beverage. Alcohol consumption is also directly linked to PCa lethality as it may accelerate the growth of prostate tumors and significantly shorten the time for the progression to metastatic PCa. Thus, we recommend immediately quitting alcohol for patients diagnosed with PCa. We discuss the features of alcohol metabolism in the prostate tissue and the damaging effect of ethanol metabolites on intracellular organization and trafficking. In addition, we review the impact of alcohol consumption on prostate-specific antigen level and the risk for benign prostatic hyperplasia. Lastly, we highlight the known mechanisms of alcohol interference in prostate carcinogenesis and the possible side effects of alcohol during androgen deprivation therapy.

Environmental Exposure to Metals, Parameters of Oxidative Stress in Blood and Prostate Cancer: Results from Two Cohorts

“…However, PSA alone does not appear to have sufficient specificity for clinically important cancers. Moreover, other factors such as lifestyle and metal(loid) exposure could also affect PSA levels [ 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 ]. Therefore, we explored the possible relationship between several metal(loid)s and parameters of oxidative stress on the levels of serum PSA in prostate cancer patients from Croatia and Serbia.…”

“…The PSA is mainly excreted from the normal epithelium of prostate tissue and its level rises slightly with age as the prostate gland grows bigger. However, a number of other factors can also affect PSA levels, including lifestyle and metal(loid) exposure [ 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 ].…”

Lifestyle habits to prevent the development of benign prostatic hyperplasia: Analysis of Japanese nationwide datasets

“…The positive correlation between daily drinking and uroselective α 1 receptor blockers suggest that excessive alcohol consumption contrarily increases the risk of BPH development. It has become clear that excessive alcohol intake damages structure of organelles (e.g., Golgi body) of the prostate cell, which could cause abnormal prostate proliferation 32 . The beneficial effect which modest consumers obtain would be counteracted by the cellular damage occurring at high concentration of alcohol in binge drinkers.…”

The influence of genetic and environmental factors on the incidence of prostate cancer in men

“…[30] Zgodnie z raportem przedstawionym przez Światową Organizację Zdrowia oszacowano, iż spożycie alkoholu było w 2016 roku przyczyną około 3 milionów zgonów na świecie, z czego niemal 13% związanych było z nowotworami złośliwymi. [31] Umiarkowane spożycie jakiegokolwiek alkoholu ściśle wiąże się ze zwiększonym ryzykiem występowania wielu różnych nowotworów u obu płci, w tym nowotworu górnego odcinka przewodu pokarmowego, wątroby, jelita grubego, piersi oraz trzustki. [30,31,32] Co ciekawe i niezmiernie ważne, nadal toczy się zacięta dyskusja o to, czy spożywanie alkoholu jest bezpośrednim czynnikiem ryzyka występowania nowotworu gruczołu krokowego u mężczyzn.…”

“…[31] Umiarkowane spożycie jakiegokolwiek alkoholu ściśle wiąże się ze zwiększonym ryzykiem występowania wielu różnych nowotworów u obu płci, w tym nowotworu górnego odcinka przewodu pokarmowego, wątroby, jelita grubego, piersi oraz trzustki. [30,31,32] Co ciekawe i niezmiernie ważne, nadal toczy się zacięta dyskusja o to, czy spożywanie alkoholu jest bezpośrednim czynnikiem ryzyka występowania nowotworu gruczołu krokowego u mężczyzn. [32] W ciągu ostatnich lat przeprowadzono wiele badań dotyczących związku między spożywaniem alkoholu a częstszym występowaniem raka stercza u mężczyzn.…”