“Our results indicate that avoiding unhealthy dietary habits could be the best nutritional strategy to prevent aggressive prostate cancer,” says lead author Dr. Adela Castello-Pastor, of the Carlos III Institute of Health in Madrid. “Total and saturated fats and trans fatty acids from red and processed meats, sweets, sauces, and convenience food are suspected to enhance PCa (advanced prostate cancer) progression through the disruption of hormonal regulation to increase oxidative stress (that impairs the repair of DNA damage) and inflammation (that increases cellular proliferation).”
This study assessed the diets of 15,296 men and followed them for an average of 17 years, and during the follow up 609 cases of prostate cancer were identified. Diets were categorized as Western, Prudent, or Mediterranean. The Western dietary pattern consisted of a high intake of high-fat dairy products, refined grains, sweets, caloric drinks, sauces, convenience foods, processed meats, and a low intake of whole grains and low-fat dairy products. The Prudent dietary pattern consisted of a high intake of low-fat dairy products, whole grains, vegetables, fruits, and juices. The Mediterranean dietary pattern consisted of a high intake of fish, legumes, olives, vegetable oil, boiled potatoes, vegetables, fruits, and a low intake of juices.
According to the researchers, no effect on prostate cancer risk was found for the Mediterranean or Prudent dietary patterns but it did reduce the risk of the most aggressive forms of the disease. Additionally, a detrimental effect was found with the Western dietary pattern which was only observed for aggressive tumors.
“Substituting the intake of Western-type diet products by products characteristic of the Mediterranean diet could also decrease the risk of other chronic diseases,” added co–senior author Marina Pollán, Ph.D., of the Carlos III Institute of Health and CIBERESP, in Spain.
“The information provided by the Spanish cohort of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition—or EPIC—has contributed to improving scientific knowledge of the relationship between diet and cancer and other chronic diseases,” added co–senior author Maria-José Sánchez, MD, Ph.D., lecturer at the Andalusian School of Public Health, scientific director at ibs.GRANADA and researcher at CIBERESP, in Spain.
The American Cancer Society states that prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death among men, with 1 in 41 men dying of the disease. Their estimates are that over 288,00 new cases will be diagnosed across the nation in 2023 alone, and over 34,000 men will lose their life due to the disease. Nearly 1 in 8 men will get prostate cancer at some point in their lifetime, and the most vulnerable population is men over the age of 50.
