Low-Fat Diet, Exercise May Fight Prostate Cancer

Adopting a healthy lifestyle can activate cancer-fighting genes and suppress those provoking the disease—in as little as a few months, say researchers.

In a pilot study, published in the June 16 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 30 men with early-stage prostate cancer were placed on a strict lifestyle regimen rather than undergoing surgery or radiation. The program consisted of a restrictive vegetarian diet with about 11 percent of total calories from fat (instead of the 25 to 30 percent that health experts typically recommend); at least 30 minutes of exercise and one hour of stress management classes daily; a weekly talk therapy session; and high doses of certain supplements.

After just three months, the participants experienced “expression” changes in some 500 prostate genes—activating those that fight cancer and suppressing those that contribute to it. These changes were noted in tissue samples provided from the participants’ first prostate biopsy, which were compared to samples taken after the study.

“My feeling is that diet and exercise likely played a bigger role than the support groups or stress management,” says study author Peter Carroll, M.D., chairman of urology at the University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine. “But does the diet have to be that spartan? Probably not. Still, the take-home message is that lifestyle modifications seem to stabilize cancer cells and may be utilized rather than immediate treatment for low-grade cancers.”

The findings do not surprise American Urological Association spokesman J. Brantley Thrasher, M.D., of the University of Kansas Medical Center, who was not involved in Carroll’s study. In previous research, a low-fat, meat-restrictive diet and regular exercise have proved to benefit to prostate health. Findings have been mixed on the benefit of supplements used in Carroll’s study—fish oil, soy, selenium and vitamins C and E.

“The diet in this study is tremendously difficult to adhere to, but I suspect that some of the changes could occur [even] with a less stringent eating plan,” says Thrasher. “When you ask people to simply reduce their fat intake by 10 or 15 percent, they find that difficult. But a more heart-healthy diet and regular exercise and stress management are certainly beneficial—from a cancer standpoint as well as for overall health.”