16 Aug 2005 @ 05:10, by Raymond Powers
Diet & Lifestyle Changes Can Reduce Incidence of Prostate Cancer
From Environment News Service
Lifestyle, Diet Shown to Stop or Reverse Prostate Cancer
SAN FRANCISCO, California, August 11, 2005 (ENS) - The first randomized,
controlled trial showing that lifestyle changes may affect the progression
of any type of cancer shows that men with early stage prostate cancer who
make intensive changes in diet and lifestyle may stop or perhaps even
reverse the progression of their illness.
The study was directed by Dean Ornish, MD, clinical professor, and Peter
Carroll, MD, chair of the Department of Urology, both of the University of
California, San Francisco, and the late William Fair, MD, chief of urologic
surgery and chair of urologic oncology, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer
Center.
The research team studied 93 men with biopsy-proven prostate cancer who had
elected not to undergo conventional treatment. The participants were
randomly divided into either a group who were asked to make comprehensive
changes in diet and lifestyle or a comparison group who were not asked to do
so.
Participants in the lifestyle-change group were placed on a vegan diet
consisting primarily of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and legumes
supplemented with soy, vitamins and minerals. They participated in moderate
aerobic exercise, yoga/meditation, and a weekly support group session. A
registered dietitian was available for consultation, and a nurse case
manager contacted the participants once a week for the first three months
and weekly thereafter.
After one year, the researchers found that levels of a protein marker for
prostate cancer called PSA decreased in men in the group who made
comprehensive lifestyle changes but increased in the comparison group.
There was a direct correlation between the degree of lifestyle change and
the changes in PSA. Also, they found that serum from the participants
inhibited prostate tumor growth in vitro by 70 percent in the
lifestyle-change group but only nine percent in the comparison group. Again,
there was a direct correlation between the degree of lifestyle change and
the inhibition of prostate tumor growth.
None of the lifestyle-change participants had conventional prostate cancer
treatments such as surgery, radiation, or chemotherapy during the study, but
six members of the comparison group underwent conventional treatments
because their disease progressed. Patients in the lifestyle-change group
also reported marked improvements in quality of life.
According to Carroll, "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."
"Changes in diet and lifestyle that we found in earlier research could
reverse the progression of coronary heart disease may also affect the
progression of prostate cancer as well. These findings suggest that men with
prostate cancer who undergo conventional treatments may also benefit from
making comprehensive lifestyle changes," said Ornish, who is also founder
and president of the non-profit Preventive Medicine Research Institute.
"This adds new evidence that changing diet and lifestyle may help to prevent
prostate cancer."
Dr. Ornish is author of five books, including the best seller "Dr. Dean
Ornish's Program for Reversing Heart Disease." Ornish's program is the first
to offer documented proof that heart disease can be halted, or even
reversed, simply by changes in lifestyle.
The researchers are continuing to follow these patients to determine the
effects of their changes in diet and lifestyle on morbidity and mortality.
Study findings are published in the September issue of the "Journal of
Urology."
The research was funded by the Department of Defense via the Henry Jackson
Foundation, the Prostate Cancer Foundation, the National Institutes of
Health, the UCSF Prostate Cancer Specialized Program of Research Excellence,
the Buckshaum Family Foundation, Highmark, Inc., the Koch Foundation, the
Ellison Foundation, the Fisher Foundation, the Gallin Foundation, the
Resnick Foundation, the Safeway Foundation, the Walton Family Foundation and
the Wynn Foundation.
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