Diet, anthropometric measures and prostate cancer risk: a review of prospective cohort and intervention studies

Abstract

We reviewed 37 prospective cohort and four intervention studies on potential dietary risk factors for prostate cancer, published between 1966 and September 2003. Some studies were limited by small size, crude measurement of dietary exposure and limited control for confounders. Intervention and prospective cohort studies support a protective role against prostate cancer for selenium, and possibly for vitamin E, pulses and tomatoes/lycopene. Overall consumption of meat, eggs, vegetables, fruit, coffee, tea, carotenoids and vitamins A, C and D was not consistently related to prostate cancer risk. Intervention studies also indicate that supplementation with β‐carotene does not lower prostate cancer risk, except possibly in men with low β‐carotene status at baseline. For specific types of meat, alcoholic drinks, dairy products, fat and anthropometric measures, most cohort studies suggest either an increased risk or no relation with prostate cancer. For calcium, two cohort studies suggest an increased risk at very high calcium intakes (>2000 mg/day). In conclusion, prospective studies are consistent with a protective role for selenium, and possibly vitamin E, pulses and tomatoes/lycopene, in the aetiology of prostate cancer. Studies are inconclusive on the role of meat, dairy products, fat, vegetables, fruits, alcohol and anthropometric measures, whereas a very high calcium intake appears to be positively associated with prostate cancer risk.

Fat and meat intake and prostate cancer risk: The multiethnic cohort study

“…Findings on fat, meat and prostate cancer have been recently reviewed, 4,41,42 and therefore the discussion here focuses on more recent additions to the literature, particularly results from prospective studies and reviews.…”

Stronger Association between Obesity and Biochemical Progression after Radical Prostatectomy among Men Treated in the Last 10 Years

“…Potential reasons for more aggressive prostate cancer among obese men include alterations in the balance of serum hormonal concentrations (estrogen, testosterone, insulin, and leptin; refs. [17][18][19], as well as dietary and lifestyle factors (20)(21)(22).…”

Impact of diet on prostate cancer: a review

“…23,20 For linoleic acid, the predominate omega-6 fatty acid in the Western diet, three of four studies showed no effect. 29 Two interventional pilot studies coupling a low-fat diet with supplementation with specific fatty acids deserve mention. In 2001, Demark-Wahnefried et al 30 published a small trial of 25 patients awaiting prostatectomy for prostate cancer placed on a diet (mean of 34 days), which was low in fat (20% of kilocalories or fewer) and supplemented with 30 mg/day of flaxseed, a compound rich in alpha-linolenic acid and lignans with phytoestrogenic properties.…”