There is a constant debate; will diet modifications assist men in dealing with advanced prostate cancer? Most of us believe that it will; now there has been a small study that supports this belief.
The onset of advanced prostate cancer is signaled by a rising prostate-specific antigen level (PSA) after pimary treatment. A rising PSA is the hallmark of recurrent prostate cancer and is often the earliest sign of extraprostatic spread in men who are otherwise asymptomatic.
Hormonal therapy (ADT) does extend survival in a cohort of men, it is not curative and produces many significant side effects many which are significant. Dietary modification may offer an important tool for clinical management.
Epidemiologic studies have associated the Western diet not only with prostate cancer incidence but also with a greater risk of disease progression after treatment. Conversely, many elements of plant-based diets have been associated with reduced risk of progression. For many men, dietary modification can be stressful and difficult to implement.
A group of researchers, in responding to this, conducted a 6-month (short term) pilot clinical trial to investigate whether adoption of a plant-based diet, reinforced by stress management training, could attenuate the rate of further PSA rise.
Urologists at the University of California, San Diego, and San Diego Veterans Affairs Medical Centers recruited 14 men with recurrent prostate cancer. A pre-post design was employed in which each man served as his own control.
Rates of PSA rise were ascertained for each man for the following periods: from the time of posttreatment recurrence up to the start of the study (prestudy) and from the time immediately preceding the intervention (baseline) to the end of the intervention (0-6 months).
a) There was a significant decrease in the rate of PSA rise from prestudy to 0 to 6 months ( P < .01). b) Four of 10 evaluable men experience an absolute reduction in their PSA levels over the entire 6-month study. c) Nine of 10 had a reduction in their rates of PSA rise and an improvement of their PSA doubling times. d) Median PSA doubling time increased from 11.9 months (prestudy) to 112.3 months (intervention). These results provide preliminary evidence that adoption of a plant-based diet, in combination with stress reduction, may attenuate disease progression and have therapeutic potential for clinical management of recurrent prostate cancer. Published in Integrative Cancer Therapies; Gordon A. Saxe, MD, PhD, Department of Family and Preventive Medicine, Moores UCSD Cancer Center, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California; Jacqueline M. Major, MS Department of Family and Preventive Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California; Jacquelyn Y. Nguyen, MD, School of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California. Karen M. Freeman, MPH Moores UCSD Cancer Center, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California., Tracy M. Downs, MD, Department of Surgery, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California; Carol E. Salem, MD, Department of Surgery, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California.
Joel T Nowak, M.A., M.S.W.
When I listened to my body just days after my diagnosis my body said “give up meat” and I did. I also take 2000 units of Vit C and 4000 units of D in addition to Calsium with my Fosamax.
Please write an article about orchiectomy. Those people who are on drugs to do the same thing are kidding themselves. After 6 months of drug therapy the “man parts” are shrunkin and non-functioning and will not come back to life if a cure is found tomorrow. They should know the best way to lengthen ones live is to loose the man parts. It takes a REAL man to do it. And it does NOT weight the heath care system down 10 or 15 grand a year. My doctor was an idiot to say “this is the cheapest and best way but is is a tough sell, let me talk at great length and detail about this 1000 a month solution” And when a month later when I said I want an operation he said “when they socialize medicine that will be your only choice”….I didn’t add that I would agree and I can’t wait!!
From Gleason 10 to PSA 0.00 in six months….can anybody beat that….anybody?…..Beuller?
Where do we find the guidelines for this diet?
I´m with prostate cancer for about l4 years and I´m with 79 years old. Y would like to know if your studies have found that the prostate cancer can stop to rise with this medicin abiraterone. Please send me your recent results about it. My PSA level is atually 2,4 and I´m taking CASODEX 50mg once a day but the colateral effects are making me very hill.
Sincerelly yours
Sady
Sady,
Abiraterone is still under going clinical trials, so you can not obtain it outside of a trial. Most docs believe that the ultimate results will be positive and hopefully it will eventually get FDA approval. If you are interested in getting into a trial go to: ww.clinicaltrials.gov and search for abiraterone. You will then see what trials are still recruiting and who to contact for additional information. As with all trials, before agreeing to participate make sure you completely understand the requirements and the risks. Also, speak with your personal doctor prior to starting a trial. – Joel
My husband has just been diagnosed with Clinical stage T2a prostate cancer. His PSA last week was 18.72 and his Gleason score was 8. We are exploring treatment options icluding external beam radiation and proton therapy. He is 67 years old and has a heart condition. He had 3 stents over the past 10 years and has responded well. He still works part-time. He weighs 195lbs and is 5’6″ tall. What treatments do you recommend?
Cheryl,
With your husband’s numbers there is only a 14% chance that his cancer is confined to just the prostate gland (Management of Prostate Cancer
ed. Eric Klein, MD, Humana Press, Inc, 2000). If the cancer is still confined to the gland (only a 14% chance) then radiation, no matter what type, will cure the cancer. There are some doctors that believe that the process of debulking the cancer (removing some of the cancer which radiation will do) can have a positive aspect. Either way, with or without radiation, hormone therapy is a good idea for him.
Although many people do advocate proton beam treatment there is no evidence that its results are any different from external beam and the trials really have not given us a long term look at its side effects. —- Joel