Major changes in diet, lifestyle may halt prostate Ca progression

Men with early-stage prostate cancer who make intensive changes in diet and lifestyle may stop or even reverse its progression, according to what researchers are calling the first randomized, controlled trial showing that lifestyle changes may affect the progression of any type of cancer (J Urol 2005; 174:1065-70).

Directed by Dean Ornish, MD, and Peter Carroll, MD, both of the University of California, San Francisco, and the late William Fair, MD, of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, the study included 93 men with biopsy-proven prostate cancer who had elected not to undergo conventional therapy. The participants were randomly divided into a group who were asked to make comprehensive changes in diet and lifestyle or a comparison group who were not asked to do so.

After 1 year, PSA levels decreased in men in the group who made comprehensive lifestyle changes but increased in the comparison group. Serum from the participants inhibited prostate tumor growth in vitro by 70% in the lifestyle-change group but only 9% in the comparison group.

"This study provides important new information for men with prostate cancer and all men who hope to prevent it. This is the first in a series of trials attempting to better identify the exact role of diet and lifestyle in the prevention and treatment of prostate cancer," Dr. Carroll said.