Diet and exercise may slow prostate cancer

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Sweeping changes in diet and
exercise, as well as the use of stress management techniques,
may slow the progression of early prostate cancer, researchers
report in the Journal of Urology.

Lead investigator Dr. Dean Ornish told Reuters Health the
results suggest “that the progression of prostate cancer may be
beneficially affected by making comprehensive changes in diet
and lifestyle.”

Ornish of the University of California, San Francisco, and
colleagues note that men with prostate cancer are often advised
to make changes in diet and lifestyle, but the results of these
changes have not been well documented.

To investigate further, the researchers studied 93 prostate
cancer patients who had chosen not to undergo conventional
treatment but opted instead for a wait-and-see approach. At
study entry, the men had laboratory findings indicating that
they had early stage disease.

The men were randomly placed into a lifestyle change group
or a usual activity group. The lifestyle patients were
prescribed a vegan diet with fish oil and other supplements,
moderate aerobic exercise, a daily 1-hour period of relaxation
via techniques such yoga-based meditation and weekly
participation in a support group.

At 1 year, none of the lifestyle patients but six of the
usual activity patients underwent treatment because of disease
progression. Further testing suggested that the lifestyle
intervention inhibited the growth of cancer cells.

Ornish added that “what affects prostate cancer may also
have implications for breast cancer as well.”

SOURCE: Journal of Urology, September 2005.