Prevention of Prostate Cancer: The Role of Diet

This chapter focuses on the role of diet in preventing prostate cancer. The risk of prostate cancer is found to be about 70% greater in men in the upper quartile of energy intake than those in the lower quartile. The results of a number of dietary intake surveys support the concept that a high-fat diet, especially of animal fat, may increase the risk of clinically significant prostate cancer. Animal dietary fat presumably is converted to androgens with resultant increased androgenic stimulation of the prostate. Omega-3 fatty acids have been shown to inhibit prostate cancer cell lines. Omega-3 fatty acids obtained essentially from fatty fish and eicosanoid synthesis inhibitors are found to block cancer cell invasion by regulating tumor cell proteolytic enzyme activity in vitro. Although no association was found between fruit intake and prostate cancer risk, high consumption of vegetables, particularly cruciferous vegetables (with four leaves), was associated with a reduced risk of prostate cancer. Prostate cancer is also inversely associated with estimated consumption of cereals, nuts and oil-seeds, fish, and above all, soy products. The effect size per calorie for soy products is at least four times as large as for any other dietary factor. © 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.SCOPUS: ch.b