Recent Longevity News for the seven days ending 9/4/13.  You should consult your doctor if you are taking any medications.

Statins reduce cardiovascular events in coronary artery disease patients with very low LDL cholesterol levels - Science Daily, 8/31/13 - "Major Cardiovascular Events (MACE) ... used the Ibaraki Cardiovascular Assessment Study (ICAS), a registry of 2,238 patients from 12 hospitals in the Ibaraki region of Japan ... Based on serum LDL-C levels at initial presentation participants were classified into three groups: very low (<70 mg/dl, n=214); low (71-100 mg/dl, n=669); and high (>101 mg/dl, n= 1,355) ... followed up for a maximum of 3 years ... three years of statin treatment produced significant reductions in the incidence of MACE in all three groups"

High dose statins prevents dementia, study suggests - Science Daily, 8/31/13 - "the current study examined whether statin use was associated with new diagnoses of dementia. The researchers used a random sample of 1 million patients covered by Taiwan's National Health Insurance ... The adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) for dementia were significantly inversely associated with increased daily or total equivalent statin dosage. The HRs for the three tertiles of mean equivalent daily dosage (lowest to highest) were 0.622, 0.697 and 0.419 vs control ... Patients who received the highest total equivalent doses of statins had a 3-fold decrease in the risk of developing dementia ... Almost all the statins (except lovastatin) decreased the risk for new onset dementia when taken at higher daily doses. A high mean daily dosage of lovastatin was positively associated with the development of dementia, possibly because lovastatin is a lipophilic statin while the anti-inflammatory cholesterol lowering effect of lovastatin is not comparable to that of atorvastatin and simvastatin" - Note: The brand names are Mevacor (lovastatin), Lipitor (atorvastatin calcium), Zocor (simvastatin), etc.

Statins Prevent Cataracts, Study Suggests - Science Daily, 8/31/13 - "Statins lower the rate of cataract by 20 percent ... The risk of cataract was reduced by 50 percent when treatment was initiated in younger individuals (in their 40s) and the duration of therapy was longer (e.g. up to 14 years) ... The meta-analysis included 2,399,200 persons and 25,618 cataracts. The average duration of treatment was 54 months and average age was 61"

Consumption of Certain Fruits Linked to Lower Diabetes Risk - Medscape, 8/29/13 - "Eating certain whole fruits may reduce the risk for type 2 diabetes ... However, juice consumption may up the risk for diabetes ... combined data from 3 studies: the Nurses' Health Study (n = 66,105), Nurses' Health Study II (n = 85,104), and Health Professionals Follow-up Study (n = 36,173) ... blueberries: HR, 0.74 ... grapes and raisins: HR, 0.88 ... apples and pears: HR, 0.93 ... bananas: HR, 0.95 ... grapefruit: HR, 0.95"

Why Smokers Gain Weight When They Quit Smoking: Changes in Intestinal Flora - Science Daily, 8/29/13 - "the Swiss IBD cohort study examined the genetic material of intestinal bacteria found in the faeces and studied stool samples which they had received from twenty different persons over a period of nine weeks -- four samples per person. The test persons included five non-smokers, five smokers and ten persons who had quit smoking one week after the start of the study ... While the bacterial diversity in the faeces of smokers and non-smokers changed only little over time, giving up smoking resulted in the biggest shift in the composition of the microbial inhabitants of the intestines. The Proteobacteria and Bacteroidetes fractions increased at the expense of representatives of the Firmicutes and Actinobacteria phyla. At the same time, the test subjects who had quit smoking gained an average of 2.2 kilos in weight although their eating and drinking habits remained the same ... Their results reflected those seen in previous studies conducted with mice" - See Garden of Life, Primal Defense at Amazon.com and also my yogurt recipe.  2.2 kilos is 4.9 pounds.

Doubling the daily allowance of protein intake with diet and exercise protects muscle loss - Science Daily, 8/29/13 - "consuming twice the recommended daily allowance (RDA) of protein while adhering to a diet and exercise plan prevents the loss of muscle mass and promotes fat loss. Tripling the RDA of protein, however, failed to provide additional benefits ... assigned young men and women controlled diets for 31 days that provided dietary protein at three different levels: 1) the U.S. RDA, 2) twice the U.S. RDA, and 3) three times the U.S. RDA. Volunteers were given adequate total calories to maintain constant body weight for the first 10 days to allow their metabolism to adapt to the dietary protein level, and then for the following three weeks, weight loss was induced by restricting the total calories and increasing daily exercise sufficiently to elicit an average two-pound weight loss per week" - Click here for the protein RDA table.  I would think that most American's already get twice the RDA.  My recommendation would be to add a scoop of leucine powder twice per day.  It's got to be one of the worst tasting substances on earth though.  I put a scoop in a small jar with a lid and about a half cup of water and shack it then down it.  Then add another half cup of water and shake it again to get any remaining and down it again.  See my leucine page.

• How Much Protein Is Too Much? - cbslocal.com, 7/4/13 - "The CDC recommends women need about 46 grams of protein per day. You’ll get that much by eating a three ounce hamburger, one hard-boiled egg, eight ounces of milk and one six ounce container of Greek yogurt ... So, how much is too much? ... A good general kind of rule of thumb is try not to exceed more than one gram of protein per pound of body weight ... In the most severe cases, too much protein can actually cause kidney damage, and possibly dehydration"

Statins may slow human aging by protecting against telomere shortening: A feature of senescent cells - Science Daily, 8/29/13 - "statins may reduce the rate at which telomeres shorten, a key factor in the natural aging process ... worked with two groups of subjects. The first group was under chronic statin therapy, and the second group (control), did not use statins. When researchers measured telomerase activity in both groups, those undergoing statin treatment had higher telomerase activity in their white blood cells, which was associated with lower telomeres shortening along with aging as compared to the control group. This strongly highlights the role of telomerase activation in preventing the excessive accumulation of short telomeres"

Obesity and diabetes risk: One in four has alarmingly few intestinal bacteria, Danish study finds - Science Daily, 8/28/13 - "Oluf Pedersen compares the human gut and its bacteria with a tropical rainforest. He explains that we need as much diversity as possible, and -- as is the case with the natural tropical rainforests -- decreasing diversity is a cause for concern. It appears that the richer and more diverse the composition of our intestinal bacteria, the stronger our health. The bacteria produce vital vitamins, mature and strengthen our immune system and communicate with the many nerve cells and hormone-producing cells in the intestinal system. And, not least, the bacteria produce a wealth of bioactive substances which penetrate into the bloodstream and affect our biology in countless ways ... people having few and less diverse intestinal bacteria are more obese than the rest. They have a preponderance of bacteria which exhibit the potential to cause mild inflammation in the digestive tract and in the entire body, which is reflected in blood samples that reveal a state of chronic inflammation, which we know from other studies to affect metabolism and increase the risk of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases" - See Garden of Life, Primal Defense at Amazon.com and also my yogurt recipe.

• Your Gut Bacteria May Predict Your Obesity Risk - WebMD, 8/28/13 - Same study but a somewhat different take.

Broccoli could be key in the fight against osteoarthritis - Science Daily, 8/27/13 - "sulforaphane slows down the destruction of cartilage in joints associated with painful and often debilitating osteoarthritis. The researchers found that mice fed a diet rich in the compound had significantly less cartilage damage and osteoarthritis than those that were not ... The study, which also examined human cartilage cells and cow cartilage tissue, was funded by medical research charity Arthritis Research UK ... Sulforaphane is released when eating cruciferous vegetables such as Brussels sprouts and cabbage, but particularly broccoli ... sulforaphane blocks the enzymes that cause joint destruction by stopping a key molecule known to cause inflammation" - See sulforaphane at Amazon.com and my macaroni and cheese recipe which contains brocoli.

Abstracts from this week's Doctor's Guide Nutrition/Dietetics plus abstracts from my RSS feeds (Click here for the journals, the PubMed ones at the top):

Oxytocin and Reduction of Social Threat Hypersensitivity in Women With Borderline Personality Disorder - Am J Psychiatry. 2013 Aug 28 - "Borderline patients exhibited more and faster initial fixation changes to the eyes of angry faces combined with increased amygdala activation in response to angry faces compared with the control group. These abnormal behavioral and neural patterns were normalized after oxytocin administration" - See Oxy Pro (Oxytocin) Nasal Spray at International Anti-aging Systems.

Insulin resistance and bone strength. Findings from the study of midlife in the United States - J Bone Miner Res. 2013 Aug 26 - "717 participants in the Biomarker Project of the Midlife in the United States Study (MIDUS II) ... higher levels of fasting insulin (but not of glucose) were independently associated with lower bone strength" - See my insulin and aging page.

Health Focus (BPH/Prostate Cancer):

Related Topics:

• prostatitis / cancer cures? / radiation therapy / Propecia (finasteride) / Avodart (dutasteride)

Popular Supplements:

• Genistein Combined Polysaccharide® (GCP) / vitamin E / selenium / saw palmetto / pygeum extract / quercetin / red clover / CLA / green tea / shiitake / maitake / I3C / DIM / enzymes / aspirin / melatonin / boron / omega-3 / garlic

Alternative News:

• Metformin May Lower Risk of Prostate Cancer Death, Researchers Say - WebMD, 8/5/13 - "metformin is associated with improved survival among diabetic patients with prostate cancer ... whether metformin can prevent prostate cancer progression in people without diabetes remains to be seen ... those who took metformin had a 24 percent reduction in risk from prostate cancer death for every additional six months of use after their cancer diagnosis. The risk reduction of death from other causes was initially the same but declined over time ... No reduction in death risk was seen for patients taking any other diabetes drug ... other diabetes drugs work by increasing the body's insulin production, metformin is an "insulin sensitizer" that works by making the body more sensitive to the insulin already produced ... Some research suggests that high insulin levels can influence cancer growth. Metformin, by not increasing the body's insulin production, may decrease cancer cells' growth, some experts say" - Note:  Metformin is another one that I take in low dose for anti-aging. - See metformin at The Antiaging Store.
• Coffee and tea consumption in relation to prostate cancer prognosis - Cancer Causes Control. 2013 Aug 2 - "Bioactive compounds found in coffee and tea may delay the progression of prostate cancer ... participants were men diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2002-2005 in King County, Washington, USA. We assessed the usual pattern of coffee and tea consumption two years before diagnosis date ... median follow-up of 6.4 years ... Coffee consumption was associated with a reduced risk of prostate cancer recurrence/progression; the adjusted HR for ≥4 cups/day versus ≤1 cup/week was 0.41 (95 % CI: 0.20, 0.81; p for trend = 0.01). Approximately 14 % of patients consumed one or more cups of tea per day, and tea consumption was unrelated to prostate cancer recurrence/progression"
• Fish Oil's Link to Prostate Cancer Unproven - Medscape, 7/26/13 - "The bottom line is that we cannot determine from this study design whether the intake of omega-3 fatty acids will cause prostate cancer and raise a man's risk for high-grade disease. The media has taken this and sensationalized the risk associated with omega-3 fatty acid intake"
• Advanced Prostate Cancer Risk in Relation to Toenail Selenium Levels - J Natl Cancer Inst. 2013 Jul 22 - "Selenium may prevent advanced prostate cancer (PCa), but most studies on this topic were conducted in populations with moderate to high selenium status. We investigated the association of toenail selenium, reflecting long-term selenium exposure, and advanced PCa risk in a population from the Netherlands where low selenium status is widespread ... All cohort members completed a baseline questionnaire, and approximately 79% of participants provided toenail clippings, which were used for toenail selenium measurements using instrumental neutron activation analysis. Incident advanced PCa case subjects from the entire cohort were identified during 17.3 years of follow-up ... Toenail selenium was associated with a reduced risk of advanced PCa; adjusted hazard ratio for the highest vs lowest quintile was 0.37 (95% CI = 0.27 to 0.51; P trend < .001). For stage IV PCa, men in the highest vs lowest quintile of toenail selenium had an adjusted hazard ratio of 0.30 (95% CI = 0.21 to 0.45; P trend < .001)" - See se-methylselenocysteine at Amazon.com.
• Not just industry slamming omega-3-prostate cancer links - Nutra USA, 7/15/13 - "So what you’re left with at the end of the day is an association that at best is very weak and further weakened by the fact that they didn’t account for the known predictors of prostate cancer, when they were making this calculation"
• Omega-3 Prostate Cancer Study Flawed - Don't Believe All You Read - prostate.net, 7/12/13 - "This is a common phenomenon when a contradictory study hits the media. It happened in 2012 with saw palmetto ... The same thing happened with SELECT trial regarding vitamin E in 2011 ... When faced with opposing evidence, readers must use common sense and read between the lines. Don’t let one study form your opinion. Look for other sources to support a study before forming an opinion and find out specifically what form of a treatment was studied and other factor that could affect outcome. There are flaws in many studies"
• How a SELECTed Bad Study Became Big News - Dr. Michael Murray, 7/12/13 - "This study is not consistent with other studies (discussed below) ... There is no evidence that anybody in this study took fish oil supplements or even ate fish ... In usual circumstances, plasma levels of EPA and DHA reflect very recent intake and are considered a poor biomarker of long-term omega-3 intake ... Patients with prostate cancer may have only recently increased their fish and/or fish oil consumption ... Fish and fish oil ingestion produces a big rise in plasma omega-3 levels in about 4.5 hours and washes out around 48 hours ... The data may reflect cancer activity rather than a causative association. Without dietary history or documentation of fish oil use there is no way of knowing"
• Experts slam omega-3 link to prostate cancer as 'scaremongering' - Nutra USA, 7/12/13 - "if the findings of the new study were true, "then prostate cancer would be rampant in any country with high seafood consumption (Scandinavia, Japan etc) and conversely, low level consumption should be protective"
• Plasma phospholipid fatty acids, dietary fatty acids and prostate cancer risk - Int J Cancer. 2013 Apr 11 - "Animal and experimental studies have demonstrated that long-chain n-3 fatty acids inhibit the development of prostate cancer, whereas n-6 fatty acids might promote it ... Collaborative Cohort Study using a random sample of 1,717 men and 464 prostate cancer cases to investigate associations between fatty acids assessed in plasma phospholipids (PPLs) or diet (estimated using a 121-item food frequency questionnaire) and prostate cancer risk ... Prostate cancer risk was positively associated with %PPL saturated fatty acids (SFAs); HR [95% CI] = 1.51 [1.06, 2.16] (Q5 vs. Q1, fifth vs. first quintile); p-trend = 0.003. HRs (Q5 to Q2 vs. Q1) were significantly elevated for %PPL palmitic acid. %PPL oleic acid was inversely associated with risk, HR = 0.62 [0.43, 0.91] (Q5 vs. Q1); p-trend = 0.04. No statistically significant linear trends were observed for dietary intakes. The HRs were elevated for moderate intakes of linoleic acid (Q2 and Q3 vs. Q1, 1.58 [1.10, 2.28] and 1.70 [1.18, 2.46], respectively), but the increase was not significant for higher intakes (Q4 and Q5). No association varied significantly by tumour aggressiveness (all p-homogeneity > 0.1). Prostate cancer risk was positively associated with %PPL SFA, largely attributable to palmitic acid and inversely associated with %PPL monounsaturated fatty acids, largely attributable to oleic acid. Higher risks were also observed for dietary n-6 polyunsaturated fats, primarily linoleic acid"
• Food Supplement Linked to Lower PSA in Prostate Cancer - Medscape, 6/10/13 - "A commercially available food supplement that contains pomegranate, broccoli, green tea, and turmeric significantly lowers prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels ... made headlines around the world and caused the polyphenol-rich supplement, known as Pomi-T (nature Medical Products), to sell out within hours ... to receive the supplement 3 times a day for 6 months or placebo ... At 6-month follow-up, the median increase in PSA was 63.8% lower in the supplement groups than in the placebo group (14.7% vs 78.5; P =.0008). In addition, PSA levels were stable or lower than baseline more often in the supplement group (46% vs 14%" - Note:  I've already been taking most of the ingredients separately plus it probably avoids some of the mark-up.
• Coffee and risk of prostate cancer incidence and mortality in the Cancer of the Prostate in Sweden Study - Cancer Causes Control. 2013 May 24 - "Mean coffee intake was 3.1 cups per day among both cases and controls. Coffee intake was not associated with overall prostate cancer risk. Risk of fatal prostate cancer was inversely, but not statistically significantly, associated with coffee intake, with an odds ratio of 0.64 [95 % confidence interval (CI) 0.34-1.19, p value for linear trend = 0.81] for men consuming greater than 5 cups per day compared to men drinking less than 1 cup per day. The highest intake of coffee was associated non-significantly with lower risk of advanced disease (OR = 0.73, 95 % CI 0.41-1.30, p trend = 0.98) and associated significantly with lower risk of high-grade cancer (Gleason 8-10; OR = 0.50, 95 % CI 0.26-0.98, p trend = 0.13). Risk of localized, grade 7, and low-grade cancers was not associated with coffee intake"
• Serum folate and prostate-specific antigen in the United States - Cancer Causes Control. 2013 May 24 - "Using data from the 2007 to 2010 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, a total of 3,293 men aged 40 years and older with serum PSA and folate measures were studied ... OR associated with fifth to first quintile of folate level = 0.42 ... Results of this study suggest that higher folate status may be protective against elevated PSA levels among men without diagnosed prostate cancer" - See folic acid products at Amazon.com.
• A low dietary ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 Fatty acids may delay progression of prostate cancer - Nutr Cancer. 2013;65(4):556-62 - "High amounts of omega-6 fatty acids have been linked with increased prostate cancer risk, whereas omega-3 fatty acids have been shown to inhibit PCa growth. However, because omega-3 and omega-6 are both essential fatty acids and part of a complete diet, it is more relevant to determine the ideal ratio of the two that would allow patients to benefit from the therapeutic properties of omega-3 fatty acids. LNCaP prostate cancer cells were treated with dietary-based ratios of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids under hormone-deprivation conditions, and effects on various cellular processes were determined. A low omega-6 to omega-3 PUFA ratio can delay the progression of cells toward castration-resistance by suppressing pathways involved in prostate cancer progression, such as the Akt/mTOR/NFκB axis. It also suppresses the expression of cyclin D1, and activation of caspase-3 and annexin V staining shows induction of proapoptotic events. Taken together, our data demonstrates that maintaining a low omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids ratio can enhance efficacy of hormone ablation therapy" - See Mega Twin EPA at Amazon.com and Jarrow Max DHA at Amazon.com.
• Soy and tomato may be effective in preventing prostate cancer - Science Daily, 5/8/13 - "From the time they were 4 to 18 weeks old, the animals were fed one of four diets: (1) 10 percent whole tomato powder; (2) 2 percent soy germ; (3) tomato powder plus soy germ; and (4) a control group that ate neither tomato nor soy ... Eating tomato, soy, and the combination all significantly reduced prostate cancer incidence. But the combination gave us the best results. Only 45 percent of mice fed both foods developed the disease compared to 61 percent in the tomato group, and 66 percent in the soy group ... The results of the mouse study suggest that three to four servings of tomato products per week and one to two servings of soy foods daily could protect against prostate cancer" - See Jarrow Lyco-Sorb (contains Lyco-O-Mato) at Amazon.com.
• Can Selenium Lower Risk of Advanced Prostate Cancer? - WebMD, 4/9/13 - "But that study looked at men with normal selenium levels when they entered the trial, and it did not focus on a specific type of prostate cancer. This latest study looked only at men who were deficient in selenium and tracked only cases of advanced prostate cancer, which is linked with a poor prognosis ... Among a group of almost 60,000 men aged 55 to 69 at the beginning of the study, the researchers found that men with the highest selenium levels, as measured in toenail clippings, had more than a 60 percent reduced risk for advanced prostate cancer" - See se-methylselenocysteine at Amazon.com which seems to be the recommended form from what I've read over the years.
• Dietary Fat, Fatty Acids, and Risk of Prostate Cancer in the NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study - Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2013 Apr;22(4):697-707 - "NIH-American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) Diet and Health Study. Diet was assessed at baseline with self-administered food-frequency questionnaires ... Total fat and mono- and polyunsaturated fat intakes were not associated with incidence of prostate cancer. Saturated fat intake was related to increased risk of advanced prostate cancer (HRQuintile 5 vs. Qunitile 1 (Q1 vs. Q5), 1.21; 95% CI, 1.00-1.46; Ptrend = 0.03) and fatal prostate cancer (HRQ5 vs. Q1, 1.47; 95% CI, 1.01-2.15; Ptrend = 0.04). α-Linolenic acid (ALA) intake was related to increased risk of advanced prostate cancer (HRQ5 vs. Q1, 1.17; 95% CI, 1.04-1.31; Ptrend = 0.01). Eicosapentanoic acid (EPA) intake was related to decreased risk of fatal prostate cancer (HRQ5 vs. Q1, 0.82; 95% CI, 0.64-1.04; Ptrend = 0.02)" - See Mega Twin EPA at Amazon.com and Jarrow Max DHA at Amazon.com.
• Dietary patterns as predictors of prostate cancer in Jamaican men - Nutr Cancer. 2013 Apr;65(3):367-74 - "Four food patterns were identified: a "vegetable and legume" pattern, a "fast food" pattern, a "meat" pattern, and a "refined carbohydrate" pattern. Men in the highest tertile for the refined carbohydrate pattern, characterized by high intakes of rice, pasta, sugar sweetened beverages, and sweet baked foods were at increased risk of total prostate cancer [odds ratio (OR) = 2.02; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.05-3.87 (Ptrend = 0.029)] and low-grade disease [OR = 2.91; 95% CI = 1.18-7.13 (Ptrend = 0.019)] compared with men in the lowest tertile. The vegetable and legumes pattern (healthy), meat pattern, or fast food pattern were not associated with prostate cancer risk"
• Coffee consumption and risk of localized, advanced and fatal prostate cancer: a population-based prospective study - Ann Oncol. 2013 Mar 18 - "A population-based cohort of 44,613 Swedish men aged 45-79 years was followed up from January 1998 through December 2010 ... For localized PCa, each one cup increase in daily coffee consumption was associated with a 3% reduced risk [sub-hazard ratio (SHR) = 0.97, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.95-0.99]. For advanced and fatal PCa, we found a non-significant inverse association; each one cup increase was associated with a 2% reduced risk of advanced [SHR (95% CI) = 0.98 (0.95-1.02)] and fatal PCa [SHR (95% CI) = 0.98 (0.93-1.03)]"
• Micronutrient intake and risk of prostate cancer in a cohort of middle-aged, Danish men - Cancer Causes Control. 2013 Mar 22 - "This study evaluates associations between intake of vitamin C, E, folate, and beta-carotene and prostate cancer risk ... Danish prospective cohort study of 26,856 men aged 50-64 years ... Supplemental folic acid was inversely associated with prostate cancer risk, notably on a continuous scale [HR 0.88 (95 % CI 0.79-0.98) per 100 μg increase/day]. The risk reduction was largely confined to non-aggressive tumors [HR 0.71 (0.55-0.93) per 100 μg increase/day]. No influence on prostate cancer risk was observed for dietary folate or for the other studied micronutrients, regardless of source" - See folic acid products at Amazon.com.
• How vitamin E can help prevent cancer - Science Daily, 3/16/13 - "In this new work, researchers showed in prostate cancer cells that one form of vitamin E inhibits the activation of an enzyme that is essential for cancer cell survival. The loss of the enzyme, called Akt, led to tumor cell death. The vitamin had no negative effect on normal cells ... Vitamin E occurs in numerous forms based on their chemical structure, and the most commonly known form belongs to a variety called tocopherols. In this study, researchers showed that, of the tocopherols tested, the gamma form of tocopherol was the most potent anti-cancer form of the vitamin ... The researchers began the work with both alpha and gamma forms of the vitamin E molecule. Both inhibited the enzyme called Akt in very targeted ways, but the gamma structure emerged as the more powerful form of the vitamin" - See Jarrow FamilE (contains all eight members of the vitamin E family, includes Tocomin) at Amazon.com.
• Using genetic proxies for lifecourse sun exposure to assess the causal relationship of sun exposure with circulating vitamin D and prostate cancer risk - Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2013 Feb 25 - "Individuals who tend to burn are more likely to spend less time in the sun and consequently have lower plasma vitamin D levels and higher susceptibility to prostate cancer" - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.
• Associations of tea and coffee consumption with prostate cancer risk - Cancer Causes Control. 2013 Feb 15 - "We studied associations of tea and coffee consumption with PCa risk in a population-based case-control study from King County, Washington, USA. Prostate cancer cases were diagnosed in 2002-2005 and matched to controls by 5-year age groups ... The analysis of tea included 892 cases and 863 controls, and tea consumption was associated with a reduced overall PCa risk with an adjusted OR of 0.63 (95 % CI: 0.45, 0.90; P for trend = 0.02) for men in the highest compared to lowest category of tea intake (≥2 cups/day vs. ≤1 cup/week). Risk estimates did not vary substantially by Gleason grade or disease stage. Coffee consumption was not associated with risk of overall PCa or PCa in subgroups defined by tumor grade or stage" - See green tea extract at Amazon.com.
• Exercise linked with reduced prostate cancer risk in Caucasians but not African-Americans - Science Daily, 2/11/13 - "Lionel L. Bañez, MD, of the Durham Veterans Affairs Medical Center, and his colleagues asked 307 men (164 white; 143 black) undergoing a prostate biopsy to complete a survey that assessed their exercise amounts per week ... Among Caucasians, men who were moderately or highly active were 53% less likely to have biopsy results indicating that they had prostate cancer compared with men who were sedentary or mildly active ... Among men with cancer, those who exercised had a 13% reduced risk of having high grade disease"
• Eating deep-fried food linked to increased risk of prostate cancer - Science Daily, 1/28/13 - "men who reported eating French fries, fried chicken, fried fish and/or doughnuts at least once a week were at an increased risk of prostate cancer as compared to men who said they ate such foods less than once a month ... In particular, men who ate one or more of these foods at least weekly had an increased risk of prostate cancer that ranged from 30 to 37 percent. Weekly consumption of these foods was associated also with a slightly greater risk of more aggressive prostate cancer ... Deep frying may trigger formation of carcinogens in food ... Foods cooked with high heat also contain high levels of advanced glycation endproducts, or AGEs, which have been associated with chronic inflammation and oxidative stress. Deep-fried foods are among the highest in AGE content. A chicken breast deep fried for 20 minutes contains more than nine times the amount of AGEs as a chicken breast boiled for an hour, for example"
• Follow-Up to REDUCE Study Shows Low Rate of Prostate Cancer Diagnosis - Science Daily, 1/22/13 - "The four-year REDUCE (REduction by DUtasteride of prostate Cancer Events) clinical study evaluated prostate cancer risk reduction in men taking dutasteride, a 5-alpha-reductase inhibitor (5ARI) typically used to treat enlarged prostate ... dutasteride decreased the risk of biopsy detectable prostate cancer by 22.8 percent compared to a placebo group ... few new prostate cancers were detected during the two-year follow-up in either treatment group and no deaths were reported. However, the former dutasteride group produced double the number of cancers than the former placebo group (14 vs. 7). Investigators hypothesize that any prostate cancer that may have been suppressed by dutasteride during REDUCE was no longer being suppressed for those subjects who did not continue on 5ARI therapy ... Overall, men in either group who took a 5ARI during the follow-up study tended to have fewer cancers" - See dutasteride at OffshoreRx1.com.
• Metformin and Prostate Cancer: Reduced Development of Castration-resistant Disease and Prostate Cancer Mortality - Eur Urol. 2012 Dec 14 - "castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) ... prostate-specific antigen-recurrence-free survival (PSA-RFS), distant metastases-free survival (DMFS), prostate cancer-specific mortality (PCSM), overall survival (OS) ... With a median follow-up of 8.7 yr, the 10-yr actuarial rates for metformin, diabetic non-metformin, and nondiabetic patients for PCSM were 2.7%, 21.9%, and 8.2% (log-rank p ≤ 0.001), respectively. Metformin use independently predicted (correcting for PSA, T stage, Gleason score, age, diabetic status, and androgen-deprivation therapy use) improvement in all outcomes compared with the diabetic non-metformin group; PSA-RFS (hazard ratio [HR]: 1.99 [1.24-3.18]; p=0.004), DMFS (adjusted HR: 3.68 [1.78-7.62]; p<0.001), and PCSM (HR: 5.15 [1.53-17.35]; p=0.008). Metformin use was also independently associated with a decrease in the development of CRPC in patients experiencing biochemical failure compared with diabetic non-metformin patients (odds ratio: 14.81 [1.83-119.89]; p=0.01)" - See metformin at The Antiaging Store.
• High Fiber Diet Prevents Prostate Cancer Progression, Study Shows - Science Daily, 1/9/13 - "The rate of prostate cancer occurrence in Asian cultures is similar to the rate in Western cultures, but in the West, prostate cancer tends to progress, whereas in Asian cultures it does not. Why? .... the answer may be a high-fiber diet ... The study compared mice fed with of inositol hexaphosphate (IP6), a major component of high-fiber diets, to control mice that were not. Then the study used MRI to monitor the progression of prostate cancer in these models ... The study's results were really rather profound. We saw dramatically reduced tumor volumes, primarily due to the anti-angiogenic effects of IP6 ... Basically, feeding with the active ingredient of a high-fiber diet kept prostate tumors from making the new blood vessels they needed to supply themselves with energy" - See IP-6 products at Amazon.com.
• Effect of Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior on Serum Prostate-Specific Antigen Concentrations: Results From the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), 2003-2006 - Mayo Clin Proc. 2013 Jan;88(1):11-21 - "Individuals who engage in more sedentary behavior and lower levels of light physical activity have higher PSA concentrations"
• Whole Milk Intake Is Associated with Prostate Cancer-Specific Mortality among U.S. Male Physicians - J Nutr. 2012 Dec 19 - "28-y follow-up ... Physicians' Health Study ... The intake of total dairy products was associated with increased PCa incidence [HR = 1.12 (95% CI: 0.93, 1.35); >2.5 servings/d vs. ≤0.5 servings/d]. Skim/low-fat milk intake was positively associated with risk of low-grade, early stage, and screen-detected cancers, whereas whole milk intake was associated only with fatal PCa [HR = 1.49 (95% CI: 0.97, 2.28); ≥237 mL/d (1 serving/d) vs. rarely consumed]. In the survival analysis, whole milk intake remained associated with risk of progression to fatal disease after diagnosis [HR = 2.17 (95% CI: 1.34, 3.51)]"
• Effects of EPA, γ-linolenic acid or coenzyme Q10 on serum prostate-specific antigen levels: a randomised, double-blind trial - Br J Nutr. 2012 Nov 30:1-8 - "A total of 504 healthy men with serum PSA level ≤ 2.5 ng/ml were recruited into the study ... Participants were randomly assigned to a daily dietary supplement containing n-3 fatty acids (1.12 g of EPA and 0.72 g of DHA per capsule) (group 1, n 126), n-6 fatty acid (600 mg γ-linolenic acid (GLA) each capsule) (group 2, n 126), CoQ10 (100 mg per capsule) (group 3, n 126) or a similar regimen of placebo (group 4, n 126) for 12 weeks ... EPA treatment significantly reduced serum PSA level by 30.0 (95 % CI 25, 36) % (P = 0.004) from baseline. In contrast, GLA therapy significantly increased serum PSA concentration by 15.0 (95 % CI 11, 20) % (P = 0.02). CoQ10 therapy also significantly reduced serum PSA level by 33.0 (95 % CI 27, 40) % (P = 0.002). In multivariable analysis, serum values of PSA were strongly correlated with duration of EPA (r - 0.62; 95 % CI - 0.42, - 0.77; P = 0.003), n-6 (r 0.42; 95 % CI 0.31, 0.58; P = 0.02) and CoQ10 use (r - 0.77; 95 % CI - 0.56, - 0.87; P = 0.001). There were also significant correlations between serum values of DHA, EPA, GLA and CoQ10 and serum PSA levels. The present study demonstrates that dietary supplements containing EPA, GLA or CoQ10 may significantly affect serum PSA levels" - See ubiquinol products at Amazon.com and Mega Twin EPA at Amazon.com.
• Protective effects of low calcium intake and low calcium absorption vitamin D receptor genotype in the California Collaborative Prostate Cancer Study - Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2012 Nov 5 - "High calcium intake is consistently associated with increased prostate cancer risk in epidemiologic studies ... Among both Blacks and Whites, we observed a threshold for calcium intake (604 mg/day) below which prostate cancer risk declined sharply ... Our findings support the hypothesis that genetic determinants of calcium absorption influence prostate cancer risk and may contribute to racial disparities in prostate cancer incidence and mortality rates"
• Green tea reduced inflammation, may inhibit prostate cancer tumor growth, research finds - Science Daily, 10/18/12 - "researchers randomly assigned the men to either six cups of brewed green tea or water daily for three to eight weeks, depending on the timing of their surgery ... The data showed that serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA) concentrations were significantly lower at the end of the study compared with baseline levels in men consuming green tea. In addition, prostate tissue PSA protein expression was lower in men assigned to green tea consumption compared with the control group at the end of the study ... Further, immunostaining analysis revealed that nuclear factor kappa B, a marker of inflammation, was significantly reduced in those men assigned to green tea compared with those in the control group" - See green tea extract at Amazon.com.
• Increased flavonoid intake reduced risk for aggressive prostate cancer - Science Daily, 10/17/12 - "Men with the highest total intake of flavonoids had a 25 percent lower risk for aggressive prostate cancer compared with those men with the lowest flavonoid intake ... higher total flavonoid intake was associated with reduced odds for aggressive prostate cancer in both African-American and European-American men, but no individual subclass of flavonoids appeared to be protective independently, suggesting that it is important to consume a variety of plant-based foods in the diet, rather than to focus on one specific type of flavonoid or flavonoid-rich food" - See Garden of Life, Radical Fruits Antioxidant Complex at Amazon.com.
• Prostate cancer: Curcumin curbs metastases, study shows - Science Daily, 10/12/12 - "The new study was designed to investigate the efficacy of curcumin in the prevention of prostate cancer metastases, and to determine the agent's mechanism of action ... curcumin may be useful in the prevention of breast and prostate cancers -- which are both linked to inflammation -- and in reducing their metastatic potential ... This does not mean that the compound should be seen as a replacement for conventional therapies. However, it could play a positive role in primary prevention -- before a full-blown tumor arises -- or help to avert formation of metastases. In this context the fact that the substance is well tolerated is very important, because one can safely recommend it to individuals who have an increased tumor risk" - See curcumin products at Amazon.com.
• Tadalafil : In the Treatment of Signs and Symptoms of Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia with or without Erectile Dysfunction - Drugs Aging. 2012 Sep;29(9):771-81 - "Once-daily tadalafil 5 mg was effective in treating the signs and symptoms of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). In phase III trials in men with BPH, the mean change from baseline to week 12 in the total International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS; primary endpoint) was significantly greater in those treated with once-daily tadalafil 5 mg than with placebo. Improvements in total IPSS that occurred over the initial 12 weeks of tadalafil treatment were maintained with continued treatment over a 1-year period in an open-label extension study. Moreover, tadalafil was effective in treating both erectile dysfunction (ED) and the signs and symptoms of BPH in a phase III trial that specifically enrolled men with both indications. Both the International Index of Erectile Function-Erectile Function domain score and the total IPSS (co-primary endpoints) were significantly improved from baseline to week 12 after treatment with once-daily tadalafil 5 mg compared with placebo" - See tadalafil at OffshoreRx1.com.
• Aspirin May Help Men With Prostate Cancer Live Longer, Study Suggests - Science Daily, 8/28/12 - "The study looked at almost 6,000 men in the Cancer of the Prostate Strategic Urologic Research Endeavor (CaPSURE) database who had prostate cancer treated with surgery or radiotherapy ... The findings demonstrated that 10-year mortality from prostate cancer was significantly lower in the group taking anticoagulants, compared to the non-anticoagulant group -- 3 percent versus 8 percent, respectively. The risks of cancer recurrence and bone metastasis also were significantly lower. Further analysis suggested that this benefit was primarily derived from taking aspirin, as opposed to other types of anticoagulants"
• Coffee consumption and prostate cancer risk: further evidence for inverse relationship - Nutr J. 2012 Jun 13;11(1):42 - "We conducted a prospective cohort study of 6017 men who were enrolled in the Collaborative cohort study in the UK between 1970 and 1973 and followed up to 31st December 2007 ... Higher coffee consumption was inversely associated with risk of high grade but not with overall risk of PC. Men consuming 3 or more cups of coffee per day experienced 55% lower risk of high Gleason grade disease compared with non-coffee drinkers in aanalyses adjusted for age and social class (HR 0.45, 95% CI 0.23-0.90, p value for trend 0.01). This association changed a little after additional adjustment for Body Mass Index, smoking, cholesterol level, systolic blood pressure, tea intake and alcohol consumption"
• Zyflamend, a Combination of Herbal Extracts, Attenuates Tumor Growth in Murine Xenograft Models of Prostate Cancer - Nutr Cancer. 2012 Jun 4 - "Prostate cancer (PrC) is the second deadliest cancer of males in the United States Hormone deprivation therapy (HDT), a common therapy for advanced forms of the disease, results in tumor regression; unfortunately, tumors inevitably become castrate-resistant ... Zyflamend® is a combination of extracts from multiple herbs, each with reported anticancer properties. Zyflamend can inhibit growth of various PrC cell lines, but no studies have investigated its potential use in vivo using a model of castrate-resistant PrC. In this study, oral doses of Zyflamend at human equivalent doses inhibited androgen-dependent and castrate-resistant tumor growth in a mouse model that mimics advanced stages of the disease, and reduced the expression of a number of biomarkers linked to PrC progression including pAKT, prostate specific antigen, histone deacetylases, and androgen receptor. In summary, this is the first article to report that Zyflamend, when provided at human equivalent doses, can potentiate the effects of hormone deprivation on tumor regression and growth inhibition of androgen-dependent and castrate-resistant PrC tumors in vivo" - See Zyflamend at Amazon.com.
• Vitamin E in diet protects against many cancers, study suggests - Science Daily, 4/23/12 - "Our message is that the vitamin E form of gamma-tocopherols, the most abundant form of vitamin E in the American diet, and delta-tocopherols, also found in vegetable oils, are beneficial in preventing cancers while the form of vitamin E, alpha- tocopherol, the most commonly used in vitamin E supplements, has no such benefit ... the most commonly used form of vitamin E supplements, alpha-tocopherol, not only did not prevent prostate cancer, but its use significantly increased the risk of this disease among healthy men" - See Jarrow FamilE (contains all eight members of the vitamin E family, includes Tocomin) at Amazon.com.
• Vitamin D-Related Genetic Variation, Plasma Vitamin D, and Risk of Lethal Prostate Cancer: A Prospective Nested Case-Control Study - J Natl Cancer Inst. 2012 Apr 12 - "The association of vitamin D status with prostate cancer is controversial; no association has been observed for overall incidence, but there is a potential link with lethal disease ... Higher 25(OH)D levels were associated with a 57% reduction in the risk of lethal prostate cancer (highest vs lowest quartile: odds ratio = 0.43, 95% confidence interval = 0.24 to 0.76)" - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.
• Oral vitamin D supplements reduced levels of Ki67 in prostate cancer cells - Science Daily, 3/31/12 - "The results not only point to the mechanisms by which vitamin D affects the rate of prostate cancer growth, but also indicate that vitamin D may slow the growth of prostate cancer cells" - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.
• 22 : 6n-3 DHA inhibits differentiation of prostate fibroblasts into myofibroblasts and tumorigenesis - Br J Nutr. 2012 Mar 6:1-9 - "DHA represents a suitable agent to inhibit prostate myofibroblast differentiation, invasiveness and EMT, two most important tumour-promoting activities involved in the progression of prostate cancer cells" - See Jarrow Max DHA at Amazon.com.
• Curry spice component may help slow prostate tumor growth - Science Daily, 2/10/12 - "androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) ... curcumin suppresses two known nuclear receptor activators, p300 and CPB (or CREB1-binding protein), which have been shown to work against ADT ... These data demonstrate for the first time that curcumin not only hampers the transition of ADT-sensitive disease to castration-resistance, but is also effective in blocking the growth of established castrate-resistant prostate tumors" - See curcumin products at Amazon.com.
• Fish intake, cooking practices, and risk of prostate cancer: results from a multi-ethnic case-control study - Cancer Causes Control. 2011 Dec 30 - "We observed that high white fish intake was associated with increased risk of advanced PCA among men who cooked with high-temperature methods (pan-frying, oven-broiling and grilling) until fish was well done (p (trend) = 0.001). No associations were found among men who cooked fish at low temperature and/or just until done"
• B-DIM Impairs Radiation-Induced Survival Pathways Independently of Androgen Receptor Expression and Augments Radiation Efficacy in Prostate Cancer - Cancer Lett. 2011 Dec 9 - "Increased consumption of cruciferous vegetables is associated with decreased risk in prostate cancer (PCa). The active compound in cruciferous vegetables appears to be the self dimerized product [3,3'-diindolylmethane (DIM)] of indole-3-carbinol (I3C). Nutritional grade B-DIM (absorption-enhanced) has proven safe in a Phase I trial in PCa ... B-DIM inhibited cell growth in a dose-dependent manner in both PC-3 (AR-) and C4-2B (AR+) cell lines. B-DIM was effective at increasing radiation-induced cell killing in both cell lines, independently of AR expression. B-DIM inhibited NF-κB and HIF-1α DNA activities and blocked radiation-induced activation of these transcription factors in both PC-3 and C4-2B cells. In C4-2B (AR+) cells, AR expression and nuclear localization were significantly increased by radiation. However, B-DIM abrogated the radiation-induced AR increased expression and trafficking to the nucleus, which was consistent with decreased PSA secretion. In vivo, treatment of PC-3 prostate tumors in nude mice with B-DIM and radiation resulted in significant primary tumor growth inhibition and control of metastasis to para-aortic lymph nodes. These studies demonstrate that B-DIM augments radiation-induced cell killing and tumor growth inhibition. B-DIM impairs critical survival signaling pathways activated by radiation, leading to enhanced cell killing. These novel observations suggest that B-DIM could be used as a safe compound to enhance the efficacy of radiotherapy for castrate-resistant PCa" - See diindolylmethane at Amazon.com.
• You are what you eat: Low fat diet with fish oil slows growth of human prostate cancer cells, study suggests - Science Daily, 10/25/11 - "Men who ate a low-fat diet with fish oil supplements for four to six weeks before having their prostate removed had slower cancer-cell growth in their prostate tissue than men who ate a traditional, high-fat Western diet ... The short-term study also found that blood obtained from patients after the low-fat, fish oil diet slowed the growth of prostate cancer cells in a test tube, while blood from men on the Western diet did not slow cancer growth ... Preclinical studies suggest that lowering dietary omega-6 fatty acids from corn oil and increasing omega-3 fatty acids from fish oil decreases the risk of prostate cancer development and progression," the study states. "We found this diet intervention resulted in a decrease in omega-6 vs. omega-3 fatty acid ratios in benign and malignant prostate tissue and a decrease in malignant cell proliferation" - See Mega Twin EPA at Amazon.com and Jarrow Max DHA at Amazon.com.
• Vitamin E and the risk of prostate cancer: the Selenium and Vitamin E Cancer Prevention Trial (SELECT) - JAMA. 2011 Oct 12;306(14):1549-56 - "Oral selenium (200 μg/d from L-selenomethionine) with matched vitamin E placebo, vitamin E (400 IU/d of all rac-α-tocopheryl acetate) with matched selenium placebo, both agents, or both matched placebos for a planned follow-up of a minimum of 7 and maximum of 12 years ... This report includes 54,464 additional person-years of follow-up and 521 additional cases of prostate cancer since the primary report. Compared with the placebo (referent group) in which 529 men developed prostate cancer, 620 men in the vitamin E group developed prostate cancer (hazard ratio [HR], 1.17; 99% CI, 1.004-1.36, P = .008); as did 575 in the selenium group (HR, 1.09; 99% CI, 0.93-1.27; P = .18), and 555 in the selenium plus vitamin E group (HR, 1.05; 99% CI, 0.89-1.22, P = .46). Compared with placebo, the absolute increase in risk of prostate cancer per 1000 person-years was 1.6 for vitamin E, 0.8 for selenium, and 0.4 for the combination" - Note:  The study used rac-α-tocopheryl acetate.  See my vitamin E page for several articles regarding taking only one of the  eight forms of vitamin E.  See Jarrow FamilE (contains all eight members of the vitamin E family, includes Tocomin) at Amazon.com.
• Zyflamend Reduces the Expression of Androgen Receptor in a Model of Castrate-Resistant Prostate Cancer - Nutr Cancer. 2011 Sep 29 - "These results demonstrated that Zyflamend inhibited IGF-1-stimulated cell growth, IGF-1R expression, and androgen receptor expression and its nuclear localization, but these effects were not dependent upon phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/pAKT signaling. In conclusion, Zyflamend decreased cell proliferation and inhibited IGF-1R and androgen receptor expression in a phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/pAKT independent manner" - See Zyflamend at Amazon.com.
• Calcium intake and prostate cancer among African Americans: Effect modification by vitamin D receptor calcium absorption genotype - J Bone Miner Res. 2011 Sep 1 - "Compared to men in the lowest quartile of calcium intake, men in the highest quartile had an approximately two-fold increased risk of localized and advanced prostate cancer (odds ratio [OR]= 2.20, 95% confidence interval [CI]= 1.40, 3.46), with a significant dose-response. Poor absorbers of calcium (VDR Cdx2 GG genotype) had a significantly lower risk of advanced prostate cancer (OR= 0.41, 95% CI = 0.19, 0.90). The gene-calcium interaction was statistically significant (p = 0.03). Among men with calcium intake below the median (680 mg/day), carriers of the G allele had an approximately 50% decreased risk compared to men with the AA genotype. These findings suggest a link between prostate cancer risk and high intestinal absorption of calcium"
• Associations of serum vitamin A and carotenoid levels with markers of prostate cancer detection among US men - Cancer Causes Control. 2011 Jul 29 - "Associations of serum vitamin A and carotenoid levels with markers of prostate cancer detection were evaluated among 3,927 US men, 40-85 years of age, who participated in the 2001-2006 National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys. Five recommended definitions of prostate cancer detection were adopted using total and free prostate-specific antigen (tPSA and fPSA) laboratory measurements. Men were identified as high risk based on alternative cutoffs, namely tPSA > 10 ng/ml, tPSA > 4 ng/ml, tPSA > 2.5 ng/ml, %fPSA < 25%, and %fPSA < 15%. %fPSA was defined as (fPSA÷tPSA)× 100%. Serum levels of vitamin A (retinol and retinyl esters) and carotenoids (α-carotene, β-carotene, β-cryptoxanthin, lutein + zeaxanthin, lycopene) were defined as quartiles and examined as risk/protective factors for PSA biomarkers. Odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were estimated using binary logistic models. After adjustment for known demographic, socioeconomic, and lifestyle confounders, high serum levels of retinyl esters (tPSA > 10 ng/ml: Q4 vs. Q1 → OR = 0.38, 95% CI: 0.14-1.00) and α-carotene (%fPSA < 15%: Q4 vs. Q1 → OR = 0.49, 95% CI: 0.32-0.76) were associated with a lower odds, whereas high serum level of lycopene (tPSA > 2.5 ng/ml: Q4 vs. Q1 → OR = 1.49, 95% CI: 1.01-2.14) was associated with a greater odds of prostate cancer detection. Apart from the three significant associations observed, no other exposure-outcome association was significant. Monitoring specific antioxidant levels may be helpful in the early detection of prostate cancer"
• Impact of Consumption of Vegetable, Fruit, Grain, and High Glycemic Index Foods on Aggressive Prostate Cancer Risk - Nutr Cancer. 2011 Jul 20 - "Here we further investigate such potential relationships with a case-control study of 982 men (470 more aggressive prostate cancer cases and 512 control subjects). Comparing the highest to lowest quartiles of intake, we found that increasing intakes of leafy vegetables were inversely associated with risk of aggressive prostate cancer [adjusted odds ratio (OR) = 0.66, 95% CI: 0.46, 0.96; P trend = 0.02], as was higher consumption of high carotenoid vegetables (OR = 0.71, 95% CI: 0.48, 1.04; P trend = 0.04). Conversely, increased consumption of high glycemic index foods were positively associated with risk of aggressive disease (OR = 1.64, 95% CI: 1.05, 2.57; P trend = 0.02). These results were driven by a number of specific foods within the food groups. Our findings support the hypothesis that diets high in vegetables and low in high glycemic index foods decrease risk of aggressive prostate cancer"
• Green Tea Extract (Epigallocatechin-3-Gallate) Reduces Efficacy of Radiotherapy on Prostate Cancer Cells - Urology. 2011 Jun 13 - "Radiotherapy is effective in inducing apoptosis in DU145 cells, but its effect was significantly reduced in the presence of EGCG, and this was associated with an increase in the induction of manganese superoxide dismutase"
• Androgen-independent Effects of Serenoa repens Extract (Prostasan®) on Prostatic Epithelial Cell Proliferation and Inflammation - Phytother Res. 2011 Jun 8 - "Prostasan® inhibited epidermal growth factor (EGF) and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) induced proliferation of the prostatic epithelial, androgen independent cell line PC-3. At effective concentrations of 50 µg/mL, Prostasan® partly displaced EGF from EGF receptor (EGFR) but fully blocked EGF-induced cell proliferation of PC-3 cells. Similarly, Prostasan® inhibited LPS-induced proliferation of PC-3 cells without affecting LPS activation of the NFĸB pathway via toll-like receptor-4 (TLR-4). Additionally, Prostasan® reduced the constitutive secretion of monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1), the LPS-induced secretion of IL-12 and inhibited MCP-1 and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) production in the presence of LPS on PC-3 cells. Taken together, our results suggest that S. repens extracts, in addition to other reported effects on BPH development and prostatitis, inhibits EGF-dependent growth and proinflammatory responses of the prostate epithelial cells" - See Prostasan at Amazon.com.
• Omega-3 Fatty Acid Inhibition of Prostate Cancer Progression to Hormone Independence Is Associated With Suppression of mTOR Signaling and Androgen Receptor Expression - Nutr Cancer. 2011 Jun 10:1-7 - "We used an in vitro model of androgen ablation to determine the effect of treatment with omega-3 fatty acids on the progression to an androgen-independent state. The omega-3 fatty acids docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) were able to prevent progression of LNCaP cells while the omega-6 fatty acid arachidonic acid (AA) actually promoted cell growth under conditions of hormone depletion. These results correlated with a decrease in the expression of the androgen receptor as well as suppression of the Akt/mTOR signaling pathway. Connecting the mechanisms by which omega-3 fatty acids affect phenotypic outcome is important for effective exploitation of these nutrient agents as a therapeutic approach" - See Mega Twin EPA at Amazon.com and Jarrow Max DHA at Amazon.com.
• Broccoli extract can ‘target’ cancer cells: Study - Nutra USA, 6/15/11 - "The research, published in Molecular Nutrition and Food Research, reports for the first time that sulforaphane – one of the primary phytochemicals in broccoli and other cruciferous vegetables – is able to selectively target and kill cancer cells, while leaving normal cells healthy and unaffected ... Here we show for the first time that sulforaphane selectively targets benign hyperplasia cells and cancerous prostate cells while leaving the normal prostate cells unaffected" - [Abstract] - See sulforaphane at Amazon.com.
• Study confirms safety, cancer-targeting ability of nutrient in broccoli, other vegetables, researchers say - Science Daily, 6/9/11 - "Sulforaphane, one of the primary phytochemicals in broccoli and other cruciferous vegetables that helps them prevent cancer, has been shown for the first time to selectively target and kill cancer cells while leaving normal prostate cells healthy and unaffected ... Here we show for the first time that sulforaphane selectively targets benign hyperplasia cells and cancerous prostate cells while leaving the normal prostate cells unaffected" - See sulforaphane at Amazon.com.
• Mushroom compound suppresses prostate tumors - Science Daily, 5/22/11 - "A mushroom used in Asia for its medicinal benefits has been found to be 100 per cent effective in suppressing prostate tumour development in mice during early trials ... The compound, polysaccharopeptide (PSP), which is extracted from the 'turkey tail' mushroom, was found to target prostate cancer stem cells and suppress tumour formation in mice ... The findings are quite significant ... Importantly, we did not see any side effects from the treatment ... He said PSP had been previously shown to possess anti-cancer properties, and 'turkey tail' mushrooms (known as Coriolus versicolor or Yun-zhi) had been widely used in Asia for medicinal benefits" - See PSP supplement at Amazon.com.
• Coffee Consumption and Prostate Cancer Risk and Progression in the Health Professionals Follow-up Study - J Natl Cancer Inst. 2011 May 17 - "Coffee contains many biologically active compounds, including caffeine and phenolic acids, that have potent antioxidant activity and can affect glucose metabolism and sex hormone levels ... The average intake of coffee in 1986 was 1.9 cups per day. Men who consumed six or more cups per day had a lower adjusted relative risk for overall prostate cancer compared with nondrinkers (RR = 0.82, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.68 to 0.98, P(trend) = .10). The association was stronger for lethal prostate cancer (consumers of more than six cups of coffee per day: RR = 0.40, 95% CI = 0.22 to 0.75, P(trend) = .03). Coffee consumption was not associated with the risk of nonadvanced or low-grade cancers and was only weakly inversely associated with high-grade cancer. The inverse association with lethal cancer was similar for regular and decaffeinated coffee (each one cup per day increment: RR = 0.94, 95% CI = 0.88 to 1.01, P = .08 for regular coffee and RR = 0.91, 95% CI = 0.83 to 1.00, P = .05 for decaffeinated coffee). The age-adjusted incidence rates for men who had the highest (≥6 cups per day) and lowest (no coffee) coffee consumption were 425 and 519 total prostate cancers, respectively, per 100 000 person-years and 34 and 79 lethal prostate cancers, respectively, per 100 000 person-years"
• Coffee may reduce risk of lethal prostate cancer in men - Science Daily, 5/17/11 - "The researchers chose to study coffee because it contains many beneficial compounds that act as antioxidants, reduce inflammation, and regulate insulin, all of which may influence prostate cancer. Coffee has been associated in prior studies with a lower risk of Parkinson's disease, type 2 diabetes, gallstone disease, and liver cancer or cirrhosis ... Men who consumed the most coffee (six or more cups daily) had nearly a 20% lower risk of developing any form of prostate cancer ... Men who drank the most coffee had a 60% lower risk of developing lethal prostate cancer ... Even drinking one to three cups of coffee per day was associated with a 30% lower risk of lethal prostate cancer"
• Aspirin reduces the risk of cancer recurrence in prostate cancer patients, study suggests - Science Daily, 5/2/11 - "After 10-years from completion of treatment, 31% of the men who took aspirin developed recurrence compared with 39% of non-aspirin users (p=0.0005). There was also a 2% improvement in 10-year prostate cancer related survival associated with aspirin use with a trend toward statistical significance"
• Thiazolidenediones induce tumour-cell apoptosis through the Akt-GSK3β pathway - J Clin Pharm Ther. 2011 Mar 16 - "Prostate cancer is a major health threat for men. Thiazolidenediones (TZDs) are synthetic ligands of the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ), and previous studies have shown that TZDs induce apoptosis of prostate cancer cells independently of PPARγ activation. However, the exact mechanism of these effects remains unknown ... The apoptosis-inducing effect of TZDs on prostate cancer cells involves the inhibition of Akt phosphorylation. Furthermore, TZDs induce inactivation of GSK3β, a multifunctional kinase that mediates essential events promoting prostate cancer development and acquisition of androgen independence. In addition, the GSK3β inhibitor lithium chloride sensitizes prostate cancer cells to TZDs cytotoxicity. What is new and Conclusion:  Our data suggest that modulation of Akt-GSK3β pathway is involved in the cell death pathway engaged by TZDs in prostate cancer cells. This reveals another possible mechanism of TZDs on apoptosis in prostate cancer. Inhibition of the Akt-GSK3β cascade may be a useful approach in prostate cancer" - Got that because I'm going to give a test on it in next weeks newsletter.  The point is that TZDs such as pioglitazone may help prevent or slow prostate cancer.  See Pioglitazone at OffshoreRx1.com.
• Gamma-tocotrienol induces apoptosis and autophagy in prostate cancer cells by increasing intracellular dihydrosphingosine and dihydroceramide - Int J Cancer. 2011 Mar 11 - "Although cell-based studies have shown that γ-tocotrienol (γTE) exhibits stronger anticancer activities than other forms of vitamin E including γ-tocopherol (γT), the molecular bases underlying γTE-exerted effects remains to be elucidated ... In agreement with these cell-based studies, γTE inhibited LNCaP xenograft growth by 53% (P<0.05), compared with 33% (P = 0.07) by γT, in nude mice. These findings provide a molecular basis of γTE-stimulated cancer-cell death and support the notion that elevation of intracellular dihydroceramide and dihydrosphingosine is likely a novel anticancer mechanism" - See Jarrow FamilE (contains all eight members of the vitamin E family, includes Tocomin) at Amazon.com.
• Selenium may reduce prostate cancer markers: Study - Nutra USA, 2/23/11 - "The new study tested whether a 6-week supplementation of 200 micrograms of selenium (in the form of glycinate) affected the activities of 2 blood selenium enzymes (erythrocyte and plasma GPx) and a marker of prostate cancer risk (plasma PSA) ... selenium supplementation, but not placebo, raised both plasma and erythrocyte GPx activities ... selenium glycinate, but again not placebo, lowered the cancer risk marker of serum PSA" - See selenium at Amazon.com.
• Chemopreventative Potential of the Cruciferous Vegetable Constituent Phenethyl Isothiocyanate in a Mouse Model of Prostate Cancer - J Natl Cancer Inst. 2011 Feb 17 - "This study was undertaken to determine the chemopreventative efficacy of phenethyl isothiocyanate (PEITC), a bioactive constituent of many edible cruciferous vegetables, in a mouse model of prostate cancer, and to identify potential biomarker(s) associated with PEITC response ... Administration of PEITC (3 μmol/g diet) decreased incidence (PEITC diet vs control diet, mean = 21.65 vs 57.58%, difference = -35.93%, 95% confidence interval = -45.48% to -13.10%, P = .04) as well as burden (affected area) (PEITC diet vs control diet, mean = 18.53% vs 45.01%, difference = -26.48%, 95% confidence interval = -49.78% to -3.19%, P = .02) of poorly differentiated tumors in the dorsolateral prostate of transgenic mice compared with control mice, with no toxic effects. PEITC-mediated inhibition of prostate carcinogenesis was associated with induction of autophagy and overexpression of E-cadherin in the dorsolateral prostate. However, PEITC treatment was not associated with a decrease in cellular proliferation, apoptosis induction, or inhibition of neoangiogenesis. Plasma proteomics revealed distinct changes in the expression of several proteins (eg, suppression of clusterin protein) in the PEITC-treated mice compared with control mice. Conclusions In this transgenic model, dietary PEITC suppressed prostate cancer progression by induction of autophagic cell death. Potential biomarkers to assess the response to PEITC treatment in plasma were identified" - See cruciferous supplements at Amazon.com.
• Dietary zinc and prostate cancer survival in a Swedish cohort - Am J Clin Nutr. 2011 Jan 12 - "High dietary zinc intake was associated with a reduced risk of prostate cancer-specific mortality (HR(Q4 vs Q1): 0.64; 95% CI: 0.44, 0.94; P for trend = 0.05) in the study population. The association was stronger in men with localized tumors (HR: 0.24; 95% CI: 0.09, 0.66; P for trend = 0.005). Zinc intake was not associated with mortality from other causes" - See Jarrow Zinc Balance at Amazon.com (some studies show that taking zinc can cause a difficiency of copper).
• 'Longevity' protein SIRT1 may ward off precursor to prostate cancer - Science Daily, 1/13/11 - "prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PIN) ... deletion of the Sirt1 gene in mice resulted in PIN lesion formation associated with reduced autophagy, which is the necessary degradation of a cell's own components and most likely essential for tumor suppression ... it tells you that this 'longevity' gene is normally blocking prostate cancer" - Note: Resveratrol increases Sirt1.  See resveratrol products at Amazon.com:
  • Sirtuin1 may boost memory and learning ability; Discovery could lead to new drugs to fight Alzheimer's, other neurological diseases - Science Daily, 7/11/10 - "Resveratrol, found in wine, has been touted as a life-span enhancer because it activates a group of enzymes known as sirtuins, which have gained fame in recent years for their ability to slow the aging process. Now MIT researchers report that Sirtuin1 -- a protein that in humans is encoded by the SIRT1 gene -- also promotes memory and brain flexibility ... We have now found that SIRT1 activity also promotes plasticity and memory"
  • Slowing Aging: Anti-aging Pathway Enhances Cell Stress Response - Science Daily, 2/19/09 - "The researchers discovered a new molecular relationship critical to keeping cells healthy across a long span of time: a protein called SIRT1, important for caloric restriction and lifespan and activated by resveratrol, regulates heat shock factor 1 (HSF1), keeping it active. HSF1 in turn senses the presence of damaged proteins in the cell and elevates the expression of molecular chaperones to keep a cell's proteins in a folded, functional state. Regulation of this pathway has a direct beneficial effect to cells ... decrease in SIRT1 may help explain why protein misfolding diseases, such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, Huntington's and adult-onset diabetes, are diseases of aging"
  • Wine Compound Spurs Diabetes Research - WebMD, 11/29/07 - "In October, Chinese researchers reported that resveratrol curbs insulin resistance in mice. Insulin is a hormone that controls blood sugar. Insulin resistance can lead to type 2 diabetes ... Like resveratrol, the lab-made chemicals activate a gene called SIRT1, making the diabetic mice more sensitive to insulin ... the newly developed chemicals are 1,000 times more potent than resveratrol"
• Lycopene and Apo-12'-Lycopenal Reduce Cell Proliferation and Alter Cell Cycle Progression in Human Prostate Cancer Cells - Nutr Cancer. 2011 Jan 3:1 - "Apo-lycopenals or other lycopene metabolites, whether produced by cleavage enzymes within the body or consumed with tomato products, can be found in tissues at concentrations equivalent to physiological retinoid concentrations ... The present data indicate that lycopene and apo-12'-lycopenal reduce the proliferation of prostate cancer cells, in part, by inhibiting normal cell cycle progression" - See Jarrow Lyco-Sorb (contains Lyco-O-Mato) at Amazon.com.
• Exercise may lower risk of death for men with prostate cancer - Science Daily, 1/5/11 - "Compared with men who walked less than 90 minutes per week at an easy pace, those who walked 90 or more minutes per week at a normal to very brisk pace had a 46% lower risk of dying from any cause ... Only vigorous activity -- defined as more than three hours per week -- was associated with reduced prostate cancer mortality. Men who did vigorous activity had a 61% lower risk of prostate cancer-specific death compared with men who did less than one hour per week of vigorous activity"
• Pomegranate juice components could stop cancer from spreading - Science Daily, 12/12/10 - "Researchers at the University of California, Riverside have identified components in pomegranate juice that both inhibit the movement of cancer cells and weaken their attraction to a chemical signal that promotes the metastasis of prostate cancer to the bone ... the researchers identified the following active groups of ingredients in pomegranate juice that had a molecular impact on cell adhesion and migration in metastatic prostate cancer cells: phenylpropanoids, hydrobenzoic acids, flavones and conjugated fatty acids" - See pomegranate at Amazon.com.
• Dihydrotestosterone May Not Affect Prostate Growth But May Reduce BMD - Medscape, 11/16/10
• Soy may stop prostate cancer spread: Experimental soy-based drug shows benefits in men with localized prostate cancer - Science Daily, 11/8/10 - "A recent phase II randomized study of 38 men with localized prostate cancer found that genistein, when given once a day as a pill, one month prior to surgery, had beneficial effects on prostate cancer cells ... genistein increased the expression of genes that suppress the invasion of cancer cells and decreased the expression of genes that enhance invasion" - See genistein at Amazon.com.
• Rye Whole Grain and Bran Intake Compared with Refined Wheat Decreases Urinary C-Peptide, Plasma Insulin, and Prostate Specific Antigen in Men with Prostate Cancer - J Nutr. 2010 Oct 27 - "Seventeen participants were provided with 485 g rye whole grain and bran products (RP) or refined wheat products with added cellulose (WP), corresponding to ~50% of daily energy intake, in a randomized controlled, crossover design ... We conclude that whole grain and bran from rye resulted in significantly lower plasma PSA compared with a cellulose-supplemented refined wheat diet in patients with prostate cancer. The effect may be related to inhibition of prostate cancer progression caused by decreased exposure to insulin, as indicated by plasma insulin and urinary C-peptide excretion"
• Vitamin E in front line of prostate cancer fight - Science Daily, 10/23/10 - "the research team have discovered a particular form of T3, called gamma-tocotrienol (γ-T3), can successfully kill off the prostate cancer CSCs ... Other research has found γ-T3 is also effective in suppressing other types of cancer, including breast, colon, liver and gastric ... not all vitamin E preparations had the active constituent" - See Jarrow FamilE (contains all eight members of the vitamin E family, includes Tocomin) at Amazon.com.
• Soy isoflavones in conjunction with radiation therapy in patients with prostate cancer - Nutr Cancer. 2010 Oct;62(7):996-1000 - "Soy isoflavones sensitize prostate cancer cells to radiation therapy by inhibiting cell survival pathways activated by radiation. At the same time, soy isoflavones have significant antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity, which may help prevent the side effects of radiation ... Adverse effects of radiation therapy on bladder, bowel, and sexual function were assessed by a self-administered quality of life questionnaire at 3 and 6 mo. Only 26 and 27 patients returned completed questionnaires at 3 and 6 mo, respectively. At each time point, urinary, bowel, and sexual adverse symptoms induced by radiation therapy were decreased in the soy isoflavone group compared to placebo group. At 3 mo, soy-treated patients had less urinary incontinence, less urgency, and better erectile function as compared to the placebo group. At 6 mo, the symptoms in soy-treated patients were further improved as compared to the placebo group. These patients had less dripping/leakage of urine (7.7% in Group 1 vs. 28.4% in Group 2), less rectal cramping/diarrhea (7.7% vs. 21.4%), and less pain with bowel movements (0% vs. 14.8%) than placebo-treated patients. There was also a higher overall ability to have erections (77% vs. 57.1%). The results suggest that soy isoflavones taken in conjunction with radiation therapy could reduce the urinary, intestinal, and sexual adverse effects in patients with prostate cancer" - See soy isoflavones at Amazon.com.
• The effectiveness of dried cranberries ( Vaccinium macrocarpon) in men with lower urinary tract symptoms Br J Nutr. 2010 Aug 31:1-9 - "In contrast to the control group, patients in the cranberry group had statistically significant improvement in International Prostate Symptom Score, QoL, urination parameters including voiding parameters (rate of urine flow, average flow, total volume and post-void residual urine volume), and lower total PSA level on day 180 of the study" - [Nutra USA] - See Jarrow Formulas, Cran Clearance at Amazon.com.
• Nutrients and risk of prostate cancer - Nutr Cancer. 2010 Aug;62(6):710-8 - "Intake of trans fat was associated with the risk of PCa; the OR for the highest vs. the lowest quartile was 1.45 (95% CI = 1.16-1.81); the association was apparently stronger in subjects aged less than 65, normal weight men, and ever smokers. An increased risk was also observed with increasing intake of sucrose and disaccharides. In contrast, men in the highest quartile of cholesterol intake were at lower risk of PCa. No association was found with intake of total proteins, total fat, monounsaturated fats, polyunsaturated fats, monosaccharides, and total carbohydrates. The findings provide evidence that a diet low in trans fat could reduce PCa risk"
• Mixed Tocotrienols Inhibit Prostate Carcinogenesis in TRAMP Mice - Nutr Cancer. 2010 Aug;62(6):789-94 - "mixed-tocotrienol-fed groups had a lower incidence of tumor formation along with a significant reduction in the average wet weight of genitourinary apparatus. Furthermore, mixed tocotrienols significantly reduced the levels of high-grade neoplastic lesions as compared to the positive controls. This decrease in levels of high-grade neoplastic lesions was found to be associated with increased expression of proapoptotic proteins BAD (Bcl(2) antagonist of cell death) and cleaved caspase-3 and cell cycle regulatory proteins cyclin dependent kinase inhibitors p21 and p27. In contrast, the expression of cyclins A and E were found to be decreased in mixed-tocotrienol groups. Taken together, our results show that by modulating cell cycle regulatory proteins and increasing expression of proapoptotic proteins, mixed tocotrienols suppress prostate tumorigenesis in the TRAMP mice" - See Jarrow FamilE (contains all eight members of the vitamin E family, includes Tocomin) at Amazon.com.
• Anti-cancer effects of broccoli ingredient explained - Science Daily, 7/12/10 - "sulforaphane, a chemical found in broccoli, interacts with cells lacking a gene called PTEN to reduce the chances of prostate cancer developing" - See sulforaphane at Amazon.com.
• Gamma-tocotrienol as an effective agent in targeting prostate cancer stem cell-like population - Int J Cancer. 2010 Jul 8 - "Emerging evidence supports that prostate cancer originates from a rare sub-population of cells, namely prostate cancer stem cells (CSCs). Conventional therapies for prostate cancer are believed to mainly target the majority of differentiated tumor cells but spare CSCs, which may account for the subsequent disease relapse after treatment. Therefore, successful elimination of CSCs may be an effective strategy to achieve complete remission from this disease. Gamma-tocotrienols (gamma-T3) is one of the vitamin-E constituents which have been shown to have anticancer effects against a wide-range of human cancers. Recently, we have reported that gamma-T3 treatment not only inhibits prostate cancer cell invasion but also sensitizes the cells to docetaxel-induced apoptosis, suggesting that gamma-T3 may be an effective therapeutic agent against advanced stage prostate cancer. Here, we demonstrate for the first time that gamma-T3 can down-regulate the expression of prostate CSC markers (CD133/CD44) in androgen independent (AI) prostate cancer cell lines (PC-3 & DU145), as evident from western blotting analysis. Meanwhile, the spheroid formation ability of the prostate cancer cells was significantly hampered by gamma-T3 treatment. In addition, pre-treatment of PC-3 cells with gamma-T3 was found to suppress tumor initiation ability of the cells. More importantly, while CD133-enriched PC-3 cells were highly resistant to docetaxel treatment, these cells were as sensitive to gamma-T3 treatment as the CD133-depleted population. Our data suggest that gamma-T3 may be an effective agent in targeting prostate CSCs, which may account for its anticancer and chemosensitizing effects reported in previous studies" - See Jarrow FamilE (contains all eight members of the vitamin E family, includes Tocomin) at Amazon.com.
• Polyphenols in red wine and green tea halt prostate cancer growth, study suggests - Science Daily, 6/9/10 - "The profound impact that the antioxidants in red wine and green tea have on our bodies is more than anyone would have dreamt just 25 years ago," Weissmann added. "As long as they are taken in moderation, all signs show that red wine and green tea may be ranked among the most potent 'health foods' we know." - See resveratrol products at Amazon.com and green tea extract at Amazon.com.
• Calcium consumption may cause prostate cancer in Chinese, research suggests - Science Daily, 6/1/10 - "Results showed a 25 percent increased risk of prostate cancer when comparing those who consumed, on average, 659 mg vs. 211 mg of total calcium a day ... Major food sources of calcium in this population consisted of: vegetables (19.3 percent), dairy (17.3 percent), grain products (14.7 percent), soyfoods (11.8 percent), fruit (7.3 percent) and fish (6.2 percent). However, the researchers stress that there was no positive association with prostate cancer risk and any one particular food source ... Among men with less than average BMI (median BMI was 22.9 kg/m2), the researchers found a twofold increased risk of prostate cancer"
• Effects of phenylethyl isothiocyanate and its metabolite on cell-cycle arrest and apoptosis in LNCaP human prostate cancer cells - Int J Food Sci Nutr. 2010 May;11(7):324-36 - "Cruciferous vegetable consumption is associated with decreased risk of several cancers, including prostate cancer. Gluconasturtiin, one of the predominant glucosinolates in cruciferous vegetables, is hydrolyzed to yield phenylethyl isothiocyanate (PEITC). PEITC absorption and metabolism in humans involves glutathione conjugation followed by conversion via the mercapturic acid pathway to an N-acetylcysteine (NAC) conjugate that is excreted in the urine. We observed an inhibitory effect of PEITC and its metabolite, NAC-PEITC, on cancer cell proliferation, cell-cycle progression, and apoptosis in LNCaP human prostate cancer cells. PEITC and NAC-PEITC suppressed LNCaP cell proliferation in a dose-dependent manner, and exposure to 5 microM PEITC or NAC-PEITC reduced cell proliferation by 25% and 30%, respectively. Cell-cycle analysis revealed that cells treated with 5 microM PEITC or NAC-PEITC arrested at the G(2)/M phase. In addition, the percentage of cells in the S phase decreased from 46% to 25% following 48 h of incubation with PEITC or NAC-PEITC. The G(2)/M-phase cell-cycle arrest of LNCaP cells grown in the presence of PEITC or NAC-PEITC is correlated with the downregulation of Cdk1 and cyclin B(1) protein expression. Apoptosis was observed at the later stages of 24-h and 48-h treatments with 5 microM PEITC and NAC-PEITC. In conclusion, PEITC and NAC-PEITC are potential chemopreventive/chemotherapeutic agents against LNCaP human prostate cancer cells"
• Dietary supplements discouraged for prostate cancer patients - Science Daily, 3/8/10
• Lycopene effects contributing to prostate health - Nutr Cancer. 2009 Nov;61(6):775-83 - "Epidemiological evidence links lycopene consumption with decreased prostate cancer risk ... Lycopene modulates several of the aforementioned pathways, providing a promising rationale for prostate cancer risk reduction by lycopene: In many experimental setups, lycopene reduced inflammatory signals, prevented oxidative DNA damage, modulated the expression or activity of IGF axis members, of Wnt/beta-catenin and androgen signalling, and enhanced gap junctional communication. Lycopene's influence on these pathways likely contributes to the observed cell growth inhibition and apoptosis induction by lycopene. A substantial part of the lycopene effects can be explained by its antioxidant action, but other mechanisms might also be involved" - See lycopene at Amazon.com.
• Fats of any kind may boost prostate cancer risk: Study - Nutra USA, 1/29/10 - "Last year, a study from Harvard reported that increased intakes of trans-fatty acids may increase the risk of non-aggressive prostate tumors by about 100 per cent ... the highest blood levels of trans oleic acid and linoleic acids (18:1n-9t and 18:2t) were associated with a 116 and 97 per cent increase in the risk of non-aggressive prostate tumors, respectively, compared to the lowest levels. The study followed almost 15,000 men over 13 years"
• Dietary fat and early-onset prostate cancer risk - Br J Nutr. 2010 Jan 19:1-6 - "A nutritional database was used to calculate daily fat intake. A positive, statistically significant risk estimate for the highest v. lowest quintile of intake of total fat, SFA, MUFA and PUFA was observed when adjusted for confounding variables: OR 2.53 (95 % CI 1.72, 3.74), OR 2.49 (95 % CI 1.69, 3.66), OR 2.69 (95 % CI 1.82, 3.96) and OR 2.34 (95 % CI 1.59, 3.46), respectively, with all P for trend < 0.001. In conclusion, there was a positive statistically significant association between prostate cancer risk and energy-adjusted intake of total fat and fat subtypes. These results potentially identify a modifiable risk factor for early-onset prostate cancer"
• Intakes of meat, fish, poultry, and eggs and risk of prostate cancer progression - Am J Clin Nutr. 2009 Dec 30 - "Intakes of processed and unprocessed red meat, fish, total poultry, and skinless poultry were not associated with prostate cancer recurrence or progression. Greater consumption of eggs and poultry with skin was associated with 2-fold increases in risk in a comparison of extreme quantiles: eggs [hazard ratio (HR): 2.02; 95% CI: 1.10, 3.72; P for trend = 0.05] and poultry with skin (HR: 2.26, 95% CI: 1.36, 3.76; P for trend = 0.003). An interaction was observed between prognostic risk at diagnosis and poultry. Men with high prognostic risk and a high poultry intake had a 4-fold increased risk of recurrence or progression compared with men with low/intermediate prognostic risk and a low poultry intake (P for interaction = 0.003). CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that the postdiagnostic consumption of processed or unprocessed red meat, fish, or skinless poultry is not associated with prostate cancer recurrence or progression, whereas consumption of eggs and poultry with skin may increase the risk"
• Hops compound may prevent prostate cancer - Science Daily, 12/9/09 - "xanthohumol blocks the action of estrogen by binding to its receptor, which may lead to prevention of breast cancer ... Since testosterone receptors act similarly to that of estrogen -- by binding, then stimulating hormone-dependent effects, such as gene expression and cell growth ... Xanthohumol prevented the receptor from translocating to the cell nucleus, thus inhibiting its potential to stimulate the secretion of PSA and other hormone-dependent effects" - See hops supplements at Amazon.com.
• Exercise reduces death rate in prostate cancer patients - Science Daily, 12/7/09 - "men who walked four or more hours a week had a 23 percent lower risk of all-cause mortality compared to men who walked less than 20 minutes per week. Men who walked 90 or more minutes at a normal to brisk pace had a 51 percent lower risk of death from any cause than men who walked less than 90 minutes at an easy walking pace"
• Coffee May Cut Risk of Prostate Cancer - WebMD, 12/7/09 - "men who drank the most coffee were nearly 60% less likely to develop advanced prostate cancer than non-coffee drinkers ... men who drank decaffeinated coffee also had a similar reduction in aggressive prostate cancer risk ... coffee also contains many other potentially beneficial compounds such as antioxidants and minerals that may play a role in preventing prostate cancer ... Coffee has effects on insulin and glucose metabolism as well as sex hormone levels, all of which play a role in prostate cancer"
• Coffee consumption associated with reduced risk of advanced prostate cancer - Science Daily, 12/7/09
• Aspirin May Prevent Prostate Cancer Recurrence - WebMD, 11/6/09 - "use of anti-clotting drugs, including aspirin, appears to lower the odds that cancer will recur in men undergoing radiation treatment for prostate cancer ... taking an anticoagulant lowers the risk [of recurrence] by almost half"
• Pomegranate’s prostate protection potential grows - Nutra USA, 10/27/09 - "Pomegranate juice consumption, thus, may be of considerable advantage in prostate cancer chemoprevention, not only in patients with a genetic predisposition toward prostate cancer but also in patients undergoing cancer therapy" - See pomegranate at Amazon.com.
• Folate intake and prostate cancer risk: a case-control study - Nutr Cancer. 2009;61(5):617-28 - "Folate deficiency has been implicated in the carcinogenesis of several tumor types ... Dietary folate intake was inversely associated with overall risk of prostate cancer as compared to clinic controls (P for a linear trend = 0.003). When stratified by disease severity, dietary folate and folate from natural sources were associated with reduced risk of high-grade cancer as compared to both clinic controls (P for a linear trend = 0.0009 and 0.02, respectively) and biopsy negative controls (P for a linear trend = 0.03 and 0.05, respectively) ... These analyses support an inverse association between dietary folate intake and prostate cancer risk and primarily risk of high-grade prostate cancer"
• Gamma Tocopherol Upregulates the Expression of 15-S-HETE and Induces Growth Arrest Through a PPAR Gamma-Dependent Mechanism in PC-3 Human Prostate Cancer Cells - Nutr Cancer. 2009;61(5):649-62 - "These data demonstrate that the growth arrest mediated by gamma-tocopherol follows a PPAR-gamma-dependent mechanism" - See Jarrow FamilE (contains all eight members of the vitamin E family, includes Tocomin) at Amazon.com.
• Resveratrol enhances p53 acetylation and apoptosis in prostate cancer by inhibiting MTA1/NuRD complex - Int J Cancer. 2009 Oct 6 - "Our study identifies MTA1 as a new molecular target of Res that may have important clinical applications for PCa chemoprevention and therapy, and points to the combination of Res with HDAC inhibitors as an innovative therapeutic strategy for the treatment of PCa" - See resveratrol products at Amazon.com.
• Zinc Deficiencies A Global Concern - Science Daily, 9/17/09 - "One new study has found DNA damage in humans caused by only minor zinc deficiency ... Zinc deficiency is quite common in the developing world ... studies have shown that zinc is essential to protecting against oxidative stress and helping DNA repair – meaning that in the face of zinc deficiency, the body's ability to repair genetic damage may be decreasing even as the amount of damage is going up ... When prostate glands become cancerous, their level of zinc drops precipitously, and some studies have suggested that increasing zinc in the prostate may at least help prevent prostate cancer and could potentially be a therapeutic strategy. There are concerns about the relationship of zinc intake to esophageal, breast, and head and neck cancers. And the reduced zinc status that occurs with aging may also contribute to a higher incidence of infection and autoimmune diseases" - See Jarrow Zinc Balance at Amazon.com.
• Metformin use and prostate cancer in Caucasian men: results from a population-based case-control study - Cancer Causes Control. 2009 Aug 4 - "In Caucasian men, metformin use was more common in controls than in cases (4.7 vs. 2.8%, p = 0.04), resulting in a 44% risk reduction for PCa (adjusted OR = 0.56; 95% CI 0.32-1.00). No association was seen in African-American men" - See metformin at The Antiaging Store.
• Selenium Intake May Worsen Prostate Cancer In Some, Study Reports - Science Daily, 6/26/09
• Green Tea May Slow Prostate Cancer Progression - Science Daily, 6/19/09 - "According to results of a study published in Cancer Prevention Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, men with prostate cancer who consumed the active compounds in green tea demonstrated a significant reduction in serum markers predictive of prostate cancer progression ... Findings showed a significant reduction in serum levels of HGF, VEGF and PSA after treatment, with some patients demonstrating reductions in levels of greater than 30 percent" - See green tea extract at Amazon.com.
• Diet May Reduce Risk Of Prostate Cancer - Science Daily, 6/3/09 - "a diet low in fat, high in vegetables and fruit, and avoiding high energy intake, excessive meat, and excessive dairy products and calcium intake may be helpful in preventing prostate cancer, and for patients diagnosed with prostate cancer ... Specifically, consumption of tomatoes, cauliflower, broccoli, green tea, and vitamins including Vitamin E and selenium seemed to propose a decreased risk of prostate cancer. Consumption of highly processed or charcoaled meats, dairy products, and fats seemed to be correlated with prostate cancer"
• Carbohydrate Restriction May Slow Prostate Tumor Growth - Science Daily, 5/26/09 - "The researchers believe that insulin and insulin-like growth factor contribute to the growth and proliferation of prostate cancer, and that a diet devoid of carbohydrates lowers serum insulin levels in the bodies of the mice, thereby slowing tumor growth"
• Vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency among patients with prostate cancer - BJU Int. 2009 Apr 4 - "The frequency of vitamin D deficiency (<20 ng/mL) and insufficiency (20-31 ng/mL) was 40% and 32% in men with recurrent prostate; 28% had vitamin D levels that were normal (32-100 ng/mL). Among men with localized prostate cancer, 18% were deficient, 50% were insufficient and 32% were normal. Among controls, 31% were deficient, 40% were insufficient and 29% were normal" - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.
• Pomegranate Juice May Slow Prostate Cancer - WebMD, 4/26/09 - "All of the men drank 8 ounces of pomegranate juice daily, and that slowed down the time it took for their PSA levels to double ... Fifteen of the patients stayed with the study for up to 64 months (a little more than five years), and it typically took four times longer for their PSA levels to double when they were drinking pomegranate juice, compared to their PSA doubling time at the study's start" - See pomegranate at Amazon.com.
• Serum calcium and the risk of prostate cancer - Cancer Causes Control. 2009 Apr 18 - "These data do not support the hypothesis that high serum calcium levels is a risk factor for prostate cancer. On the contrary, the data suggest that high serum levels of calcium in young overweight men may be a marker for a decreased risk of developing prostate cancer"
• Serum Retinol and Prostate Cancer Risk: a Nested Case-Control Study in the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian Cancer Screening Trial - Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2009 Mar 31 - "Vitamin A (retinol) plays a key role in the regulation of cell growth and differentiation, and has been studied as a potential chemopreventive agent for prostate cancer ... the highest versus lowest concentrations of serum retinol were associated with a 42% reduction in aggressive prostate cancer risk (Ptrend = 0.02), with the strongest inverse association for high-grade disease (Gleason sum >7; odds ratio, 0.52; 95% confidence interval, 0.32-0.84; Ptrend = 0.01)"
• Vitamin K and prostate cancer – study supports benefits - Nutra USA, 3/31/09 - "increased intakes of vitamin K2, but not K1, were associated with a 35 per cent reduction in prostate cancer risk. The potential benefits of K2 were more pronounced for advanced prostate cancer ... A higher ratio of undercarboxylated osteocalcin (ucOC) to intact total osteocalcin (iOC) is indicative of poorer vitamin K status ... of ucOC and iOC were analysed from serum samples, and every 0.1 increment in the ratio was associated with a 38 per cent increase in advanced-stage prostate cancer, and a 21 per cent increase in high-grade prostate cancer" - [Abstract] - See vitamin K at Amazon.com.
• Fatty Fish May Cut Prostate Cancer Risk - WebMD, 3/24/09 - "Men in the study who ate one or more servings of fatty fish a week were found to have a 63% lower risk for developing aggressive prostate cancer than men who reported never eating fish" - See Mega Twin EPA at Amazon.com and Jarrow Max DHA at Amazon.com.
• Folic Acid May Raise Prostate Cancer Risk - WebMD, 3/10/09 - "Men in the study who took high doses of the vitamin had a more than twofold increase in prostate cancer risk, compared to men who did not take folic acid supplements"
• Differential Effects of Selenium on Benign and Malignant Prostate Epithelial Cells: Stimulation of LNCaP Cell Growth by Noncytotoxic, Low Selenite Concentrations - Nutr Cancer. 2009;61(2):251-64 - "Thus, noncytotoxic selenite concentrations did not induce growth inhibition or apoptosis selectively in prostate cancer cells. Growth stimulation of LNCaP cells by low concentrations suggests the possibility of adverse effects of selenium supplementation on hormone sensitive prostate cancer, whereas inhibition of PC-3 cell proliferation at noncytotoxic concentrations suggests potential benefit of selenium in advanced prostate cancer"
• Intake of plant foods and associated nutrients in prostate cancer risk - Nutr Cancer. 2009;61(2):216-24 - "Plant foods and associated nutrients may impact prostate cancer (PC) risk and survival ... Reduced PC risk was associated with the highest tertile of cryptoxanthin (OR = 0.51; 95% CI = 0.35-0.75), fiber (OR = 0.56; 95% CI = 0.35-0.89), vitamin C (OR = 0.60; 95% CI = 0.41-0.88), and fruits and/or fruit juices (OR = 0.46; 95% CI = 0.31-0.68), with significant linear trends. Increased risk of PC was associated with the highest tertile of protein (OR = 1.99; 95% CI = 1.05-3.79) and daily servings of grains (OR = 1.99; 95% CI = 1.23-3.22) with significant linear trends"
• Zinc intake from supplements and diet and prostate cancer - Nutr Cancer. 2009;61(2):206-15 - "Ten-year average intake of supplemental zinc was not associated with a reduced prostate cancer risk overall (adjusted hazard ratio (HR) = 0.82 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.58-1.14) for >15mg/day vs. nonuse, P for trend = 0.44); however, risk of advanced prostate cancer (regionally invasive or distant metastatic, n = 123) decreased with greater intake of supplemental zinc (adjusted HR = 0.34, 95% CI = 0.13-1.09 for 10-yr average intake > 15 mg/day vs. nonuse, P for trend = 0.04). Dietary zinc was not associated with prostate cancer. In this prospective cohort, long-term supplemental zinc intake was associated with reduced risk of clinically relevant advanced disease"
• New Lab Evidence Suggests Preventive Effect Of Herbal Supplement In Prostate Cancer - Science Daily, 2/23/09 - "Combining DHEA with transforming growth factor beta-1 increased testosterone production in the stromal cells and prostate specific antigen protein secretion two to four-fold and gene expression up to 50-fold in the cancer cells. When these cell cultures were treated with red clover isoflavones, the androgenic effects of DHEA were reversed" - See Trinovin at Amazon.com.
• Soy consumption and prostate cancer risk in men: a revisit of a meta-analysis - Am J Clin Nutr. 2009 Feb 11 - "Our analysis of studies on soy intake yielded a combined RR/OR of 0.74"
• Eicosapentaenoic acid inhibits voltage-gated sodium channels and invasiveness in prostate cancer cells - Br J Pharmacol. 2009 Jan 16 - "Treatment with EPA inhibited I(Na) directly and also indirectly, by down-regulation of Na(v) mRNA expression in prostate cancer cells, thus inhibiting their metastatic potential" - See Mega Twin EPA at Amazon.com.
• Serum undercarboxylated osteocalcin as biomarker of vitamin k intake and risk of prostate cancer: a nested case-control study in the heidelberg cohort of the European prospective investigation into cancer and nutrition - Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2009 Jan;18(1):49-56 - "From cell studies, Vitamin K is known to exert anticancer effects on a variety of cancer cell lines, including prostate cancer cells. Recently, we reported an inverse association between dietary intake of menaquinones (vitamin K(2)), but not phylloquinone (vitamin K(1)), and risk of prostate cancer ... There was indication of a lower prostate cancer risk in carriers of the A allele (compared with GG carriers) of the +2255 VKORC1 polymorphism with increasing menaquinone intake (P(interaction) = 0.14) whereas no distinct effect modification was observed for the ucOC/iOC ratio (P(interaction) = 0.37). The increased risks of advanced-stage and high-grade prostate cancer with higher serum ucOC/iOC ratio strengthen the findings for dietary menaquinone intake" - See vitamin K at Amazon.com.
• Study supports pomegranate’s anti-prostate cancer potential - Nutra USA, 1/6/09 - "the average doubling time increased from an average of 15 months to 54 months for the men drinking the pomegranate juice" - [Abstract] - See pomegranate at Amazon.com.
• Pomegranate polyphenols down-regulate expression of androgen-synthesizing genes in human prostate cancer cells overexpressing the androgen receptor - J Nutr Biochem. 2008 Dec;19(12):848-55 - "A twofold suppression of gene expression was considered statistically significant. Pomegranate polyphenols inhibited gene expression and AR most consistently in the LNCaP-AR cell line (P=.05). Therefore, inhibition by pomegranate polyphenols of gene expression involved in androgen-synthesizing enzymes and the AR may be of particular importance in androgen-independent prostate cancer cells and the subset of human prostate cancers where AR is up-regulated" - See pomegranate at Amazon.com.
• gamma-Tocopherol-enriched mixed tocopherol diet inhibits prostate carcinogenesis in TRAMP mice - Int J Cancer. 2008 Oct 27 - "8 week old TRAMP males were fed 0.1% gamma-T-enriched mixed tocopherol diet that contained 20-fold higher levels of gamma-tocopherol, and roughly 3-fold higher levels of alpha-tocopherol ... Treatment with gamma-T-enriched mixed tocopherols significantly suppressed the incidence of palpable tumor and Prostate Intraepithelial Neoplasia (PIN) development without affecting the expression of the transgene (SV-40) ... gamma-T-enriched mixed tocopherols significantly up-regulated the expression of Nrf2 and its related detoxifying and antioxidant enzymes thereby suppressing PIN and tumor development" - Note:  One previous study was done with alpha-tocopherol.  I cannot understand why they did that when the previous research also supported the gamma unless they didn't do any homework at all before planning the study.  See Jarrow FamilE (contains all eight members of the vitamin E family, includes Tocomin) at Amazon.com.
• Vitamin and mineral use and risk of prostate cancer: the case-control surveillance study - Cancer Causes Control. 2008 Dec 18 - "For use of multivitamins that did not contain zinc, the multivariable odds ratios of prostate cancer were 0.6 for 1-4 years, 0.8 for 5-9 years, and 1.2 for 10 years or more, respectively (p for trend = 0.70). Men who used zinc for ten years or more, either in a multivitamin or as a supplement, had an approximately two-fold (OR = 1.9"
• Flaxseed Supplementation (Not Dietary Fat Restrict...[Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2008] - PubMed Result - Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2008 Dec;17(12):3577-3587 - "Men were on protocol an average of 30 days. Proliferation rates were significantly lower (P < 0.002) among men assigned to the flaxseed arms. Median Ki-67-positive cells/total nuclei ratios (x100) were 1.66 (flaxseed-supplemented diet) and 1.50 (flaxseed-supplemented, low-fat diet) versus 3.23 (control) and 2.56 (low-fat diet) ... Findings suggest that flaxseed is safe and associated with biological alterations that may be protective for prostate cancer"
• Characterizing components of the Saw Palmetto Berry Extract (SPBE) on prostate cancer cell growth and traction - Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2008 Dec 4 - "Saw Palmetto Berry Extract (SPBE) ... The results show for the first time the potential of SPBE, beta-sitosterol and stigmasterol as potential anti-tumor agents" - See beta sitosterol at Amazon.com and saw palmetto at Amazon.com.
• Oily fish may boost prostate cancer survival rate: Study - Nutra USA, 11/24/08 - "The prospective cohort study with 20,167 men also found that men who ate five portions of fish per week had a 48 per cent improved survival rate from the disease than men who consumed only one portion per week" - [Abstract] - See Mega Twin EPA at Amazon.com and Jarrow Max DHA at Amazon.com.
• A 22-y prospective study of fish intake in relation to prostate cancer incidence and mortality - Am J Clin Nutr. 2008 Nov;88(5):1297-303 - "Survival analysis among the men diagnosed with prostate cancer revealed that those consuming fish >or=5 times/wk had a 48% lower risk of prostate cancer death than did men consuming fish less than once weekly [relative risk (RR) = 0.52; 95% CI: 0.30, 0.91; P for trend = 0.05]. A similar association was found between seafood n-3 fatty acid intake and prostate cancer mortality (RR(Q5 versus Q1) = 0.64; 95% CI: 0.42, 0.99; P for trend = 0.02). These associations became stronger when the analyses were restricted to clinically detected cases" - See Mega Twin EPA at Amazon.com and Jarrow Max DHA at Amazon.com.
• Men Who Take Aspirin Have Significantly Lower PSA Levels - Science Daily, 11/16/08 - "PSA levels were 9 percent lower in men taking aspirin (the NSAID most commonly used) compared with men who did not use aspirin"
• Suppression of androgen receptor signaling and prostate specific antigen expression by (-)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate in different progression stages of LNCaP prostate cancer cells - Cancer Lett. 2008 Oct 31 - "EGCG suppressed cell proliferation, prostate specific antigen (PSA) expression, and AR transcriptional activity in the different LNCaP sublines. Intraperitoneal administration of EGCG also suppressed the growth of relapsing R1Ad tumors and decreased tumor-derived serum PSA. Effects of EGCG on tumor PSA expression have the potential to affect accurate monitoring of patient tumor burden by serum PSA measurement" - See green tea extract at Amazon.com.
• Prostate Cancer: Vitamin E, Selenium No Help - WebMD, 10/28/08 - "That evidence included a 1998 Finnish study of whether vitamin E could prevent lung cancer in some 30,000 smokers. It didn't, but men taking vitamin E had 32% fewer prostate cancers ... I am afraid it will be the end of the story for large trials of vitamin E and selenium to prevent prostate cancer" - Note:  Most of the vitamin E studies I've read on prostate cancer indicated that only the gamma-tocopherol worked yet they spent $114 million on this study and used the cheapest synthetic dl-alpha-tocopherol acetate form.  How dumb was that?  I don't know what the story on the selenium was.  Some say it's because people in the U.S. aren't deficient in selenium.  See my comments in my 10/29/08 newsletter.
• Too Much Calcium In Blood May Increase Risk Of Fatal Prostate Cancer - Science Daily, 9/3/08 - "Comparing men in the top third with men in the bottom third, we found a significantly increased hazard for fatal prostate cancer"
• Broccoli May Cut Prostate Cancer Risk - WebMD, 7/1/08 - [Science Daily] - "men who regularly ate broccoli showed more changes in gene expression suggestive of a reduced risk of cancer"

Other News:

• Shiftwork and Prostate-Specific Antigen in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey - J Natl Cancer Inst. 2013 Aug 13 - "Shiftwork has been implicated as a risk factor for prostate cancer. Results from prior studies have been mixed but generally support an association between circadian disruption and prostate cancer ... We combined three NHANES surveys (2005-2010) to obtain current work schedule among employed men aged 40 to 65 years with no prior history of cancer (except nonmelanoma skin cancer) ... We found a statistically significant, age-adjusted association between current shiftwork and elevated PSA at the 4.0ng/mL or greater level (odds ratio = 2.48, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.08 to 5.70; P = .03)" - Note:  Many believe that the increased risk of breast cancer in shift workers is attributed to melatonin.  Maybe it's the same for prostate cancer.

• 18-Year Study Finds Drug Cut Prostate Cancer Risk - WebMD, 8/14/13 - "an 18-year follow-up on the Prostate Cancer Prevention Trial, which took place in the late 1990s. Back then, the trial found that finasteride could reduce overall risk of prostate cancer by 25 percent -- but that it increased by 27 percent the risk of high-grade prostate cancer in those men who did wind up with the disease ... the drug actually worked better than earlier reported in reducing prostate cancer risk ... You take Proscar for six months to a year and it halves the size of your prostate, but the cancer inside your prostate does not shrink .... If I'm performing a biopsy on a smaller prostate, I'm more likely to hit that cancer than if I am sticking into a larger prostate. This drug wasn't causing more prostate cancer. It's causing more prostate cancer to be diagnosed" - [Abstract]

• Ramelteon With an alpha 1-Blocker Decreases Nocturia in BPH - Medscape, 7/31/13 - "Ramelteon at 8 mg once daily for one month was added to the α1-blocker. A self-administered questionnaire including the International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS), quality of life (QoL) index, Overactive Bladder Symptom Score (OABSS), and Nocturia Quality-of-Life Questionnaire (N-QOL) were assessed before and one month after starting ramelteon ... The mean score on IPSS question 7 (nocturia) decreased significantly from 2.88 before starting ramelteon to 2.41 one month after starting the medication (P = 0.03). The mean total OABSS decreased significantly from 6.31 to 5.38 (P = 0.03), and the mean for OABSS question 2 (nighttime frequency of nocturia) also significantly decreased from 2.63 to 2.13 (P = 0.01). The mean total N-QOL score did not change significantly" - Yeah but maybe it was just the deeper sleep that was responsible for less trips to the bathroom.

• Efficacy and Safety of Tadalafil 5 mg Once Daily for Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms Suggestive of Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia: Subgroup Analyses of Pooled Data From 4 Multinational, Randomized, Placebo-controlled Clinical Studies - Urology. 2013 Jul 19 - "The safety database included 1500 men randomized to tadalafil 5 mg once daily or placebo for 12 weeks ... In these pooled data analyses, tadalafil 5 mg improved LUTS/BPH across subgroups of age, LUTS severity, testosterone levels, and prostate volume"

• Diabetes and prostate cancer screening in black and white men - Cancer Causes Control. 2013 Jul 17 - "Southern Community Cohort Study between 2002 and 2009 ... 18,809 black and 6,404 white men aged 40-79 years ... After adjustment for confounding, diabetic black [odds ratio (OR) 1.12, 95 % confidence interval (CI) 1.01-1.25] and white (OR 1.25, 95 % CI 1.03-1.51) men were more likely to undergo recent prostate cancer screening compared to non-diabetic men of the same race"

• Testosterone Produces Mixed Results in Prostate Cancer Study - Medscape, 7/18/13 - "In men with prostate cancer, the use of transdermal testosterone-replacement therapy (TRT) after radical prostatectomy produced an increase in testosterone levels, but also had the undesirable effect of increasing prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels ... However, the use of TRT did not appear to increase biochemical recurrence rates during follow-up, which was a median of 27.5 months for treated men"
• New Risk With ADT in Prostate Cancer: Kidney Injury - Medscape, 7/16/13 - "In the study of more than 10,000 men with prostate cancer, the therapy, which has been tied to diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and other conditions, was significantly associated with an increased risk for acute kidney injury (AKI). This serious adverse event has a mortality rate of 50% ... ADT reduces testosterone levels, which leads to a hypogonadal condition marked by metabolic changes such as dyslipidemia, hyperglycemia, and an increase in fat mass"
• The Relationship Between Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms/Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia and the Number of Components of Metabolic Syndrome - Urology. 2013 Jul 10 - "A total of 1224 male police officers aged 50-59 years who had participated in a health examination were included ... the cases of LUTS/BPH were positively associated with the number of MetS components"
• Male breast cancer and 5-alpha reductase inhibitors, finasteride and dutasteride - J Urol. 2013 May 9 - "No statistically significant associations were observed between 5ARIs and breast cancer, regardless of exposure assessment prior to index date"
• Taking cholesterol-lowering drugs may also reduce the risk of dying from prostate cancer - Science Daily, 5/2/13 - "After a mean follow-up of almost eight years, the researchers found that the risk of death from prostate cancer among statin users was 1 percent as compared to 5 percent for nonusers"
• Relationship Between Predictors of the Risk of Clinical Progression of Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia and Metabolic Syndrome in Men With Moderate to Severe Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms - Urology. 2013 Apr 18 - "The percentage of participants with ≥1 predictor for the progression of BPH, the percentage of participants with a total prostate volume of ≥31 cm3, and the percentage of participants with a postvoid residual urine volume of ≥39 mL increased significantly with the increase in the number of components of the MetS (P = .003, P = .001, and P = .007, respectively). After adjusting for age and serum testosterone levels, the MetS was shown to be significantly associated with the presence ≥1 predictor for the progression of BPH"
• Three PSA Tests Over Lifetime Sufficient for Many Men - Medscape, 4/18/13 - "just 3 PSA tests over the course of a lifetime is sufficient for many men ... This premise comes from a team led by Andrew Vickers, PhD, from the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City ... The best age for this initial PSA test is around 45 years, unless there is a strong family history of prostate cancer. Age 40 might be too early, and age 50 might be too late to identify a man's risk of developing an aggressive cancer ... Men who were found to have a PSA level below 1 ug/L on the initial test would be advised to return for screening in their early 50s and again at age 60. At the age of 60, men who still had a PSA level below 1 ug/L would be exempt from further screening"
• Nearly half of all deaths from prostate cancer can be predicted before age 50 - Science Daily, 4/16/13 - "Within 25 to 30 years, 44% of deaths from prostate cancer occurred in those with the top 10% of PSA levels at age 45-49, a PSA of about 1.5 ng / ml or more. The risk of prostate cancer death was more than 10 times greater in this group compared to men with the lowest 25% of PSA levels"
• Nonsurgical Treatment Turns Back the Clock, Shrinks Enlarged Prostate - Science Daily, 4/15/13 - "The early findings hail from the first prospective U.S. trial of prostatic artery embolization (PAE), which reduces blood flow to the prostate, thus shrinking it ... 13 of 14 men (92 percent) who had PAE noticed a significant decrease in symptoms after one month"
• Surgery is superior to radiotherapy in men with localized PCa - Science Daily, 3/17/13
• GreenLight XPS 180W vs HPS 120W Laser Therapy for Benign Prostate Hyperplasia: A Prospective Comparative Analysis After 200 Cases in a Single-center Study - Urology. 2013 Feb 12 - "Mean operating room time (43 vs 79 minutes) and mean laser time (22 vs 37 minutes) were significantly shorter for the GL-XPS group (both P <.01) and mean energy delivery was comparable (226 vs 268 kJ, P = .21), GL-XPS vs GL-HPS. Mean fiber use (1.0 vs 1.5) and 3L saline bags (4.1 vs 7) were significantly lower with GL-XPS, all P <.01. There were no significant differences in the 30-day complication rate. To date, no urethral strictures and 1 GL-HPS retreatment were observed. PSA reduction at 6 months was significantly greater with GL-XPS (54% vs 79%, P <.01)"
• The efficacy and safety of alpha-1 blockers for benign prostatic hyperplasia: an overview of 15 systematic reviews - Curr Med Res Opin. 2013 Jan 16 - "Doxazosin could significantly reduce urinary symptom scores compared with tamsulosin (MD -1.60, 95%CI -1.80--1.40) and alfuzosin (MD1.7, 95%CI 0.76-1.64). Indirect evidence suggested that the urinary symptom score and PUF at end point in men treated with naftopidil were similar to those treated with other α1-blockers. α1-blockers generally lead to more adverse effects compared with placebo, and those caused by terazosin were more frequent than others. Conclusions: α1-blockers are more effective than placebo for BPH, doxazosin and tamsulosin seem to be more effective than other α1-blockers. The adverse effects caused by α1-blockers are generally mild and well tolerated"
• Pricey prostate treatment no safer than radiation - NBC News, 12/28/12 - "After a year, however, the study found the same number of side effects among men who'd had both treatments"
• Experience with more than 1,000 holmium laser prostate enucleations for benign prostatic hyperplasia - J Urol. 2013 Jan;189 - "Holmium laser prostate enucleation is safe and effective for benign prostatic hyperplasia. The complication rate is low, and incontinence and the need for ancillary procedures are rare for holmium laser prostate enucleation with durable long-term results"
• Proton therapy treatment preserves quality of life for men with prostate cancer, studies suggest - Science Daily, 10/28/12
• Reducing the side effects of treatment for prostate cancer - Science Daily, 8/24/12 - "tamoxifen reduced the risk of both gynecomastia and breast pain at 3, 6, 9, and 12 months of treatment compared to men who received no treatment. Overall, treatment with tamoxifen was more successful in reducing breast symptoms than treatment with an aromatase inhibitor (anastrazole) or radiotherapy" - Note:  They left out Femara (letrozole).
• Prostate cancer survival rates improved since introduction of PSA testing - Science Daily, 8/23/12 - "Median survival in trial S8494, which enrolled patients from 1985 to 1986, was 30 months, and median survival in trial S8894, which enrolled patients from 1989 to 1994, was 33 months. In contrast, median survival in trial S9346, which enrolled patients from 1995 to 2009, was 49 months. A 30% decreased risk of death was found in the most recent trial (S9346) from the previous trial (S8894)"
• Pan-fried meat increases risk of prostate cancer, new study finds - Science Daily, 8/16/12 - "the risk of prostate cancer may be a result of potent chemical carcinogens formed when meats are cooked at high temperatures ... Researchers examined pooled data from nearly 2,000 men who participated in the California Collaborative Prostate Cancer Study ... men who ate more than 1.5 servings of pan-fried red meat per week increased their risk of advanced prostate cancer by 30 percent ... men who ate more than 2.5 servings of red meat cooked at high temperatures were 40 percent more likely to have advanced prostate cancer ... When considering specific types of red meats, hamburgers -- but not steak -- were linked to an increased risk of prostate cancer, especially among Hispanic men. "We speculate that these findings are a result of different levels of carcinogen accumulation found in hamburgers, given that they can attain higher internal and external temperatures faster than steak," ... pan-frying, regardless of meat type, consistently led to an increased risk of prostate cancer"
• Study: PSA Testing Cuts Worst Metastatic Prostate Cancers - WebMD, 7/30/12 - "So should men get regular PSA tests? ... Many urologists, who often treat men suffering terribly from late-stage prostate cancer, agree with Messing that they should. But many experts on screening tests, who often see doctors fail to accept medical evidence that conflicts with their experience, agree with LeFevre that they should not ... The American Cancer Society has this advice: Men should only get the PSA test after having a detailed talk with a doctor about the benefits and risks of PSA screening" - Clears as mud now!!
• Men with prostate cancer more likely to die from other causes - Science Daily, 7/26/12 - "Men diagnosed with prostate cancer are less likely to die from the disease than from largely preventable conditions such as heart disease ... The researchers examined causes of death among prostate cancer cases recorded in the U.S. Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program (over 490,000 men from 1973 to 2008) and the nationwide Swedish Cancer and Cause of Death registries (over 210,000 men from 1961 to 2008) ... during the study period, prostate cancer accounted for 52% of all reported deaths in Sweden and 30% of reported deaths in the United States among men with prostate cancer; however, only 35% of Swedish men and 16% of U.S. men diagnosed with prostate cancer died from this disease. In both populations, the risk of prostate cancer-specific death declined, while the risk of death from heart disease and non-prostate cancer remained constant. The five-year cumulative incidence of death from prostate cancer was 29% in Sweden and 11% in the United States ... lifestyle changes such as losing weight, increasing physical activity, and quitting smoking, may indeed have a greater impact on patients' survival than the treatment they receive for their prostate cancer"
• Greater Percent-free Testosterone Is Associated With High-grade Prostate Cancer in Men Undergoing Prostate Biopsy - Urology. 2012 May 18 - "On multivariate analysis, testosterone (P ≥ .11) and free testosterone (P ≥ .45) were not significantly associated with low- or high-grade PCa. A greater %FT level significantly predicted high-grade PCa on both crude (P = .01) and multivariate (P = .02) analysis but not low-grade PCa (P ≥ .38). When examined in tertiles, men in the greatest %FT tertile had a significant twofold increased risk of high-grade PCa (odds ratio 2.04, 95% confidence interval 1.23-3.37, P = .005)"
• Want to avoid erectile dysfunction following prostate cancer surgery? Find an experienced, gentle surgeon - Science Daily, 5/16/12 - "a good nerve-sparing surgical technique can lessen the likelihood of these undesirable outcomes, as can the skill and experience of the surgeon ... the study authors recommend that men undergoing robotic-assisted surgery for prostate cancer should look for a doctor who has performed at least 1,000 surgeries and who actively seeks to improve and enhance his/her surgical skills ... greater surgeon experience and more delicate handling of the nerves to minimize stretch injury helped improve erectile function significantly ... surgeon improvement hit a plateau after 950 cases"
• Erectile dysfunction after radical prostatectomy: the impact of nerve-sparing status and surgical approach - Int J Impot Res. 2012 May 3 - "Before surgery, 39% of patients had a severe ED (complete impotence). At 3, 6 and 12 months after surgery, it was 80, 79 and 71%, respectively. Although the surgical approach had no significant effect on EF, patients who had undergone nerve-sparing surgery had significantly lower ED rates. Nevertheless, 1 year after RP, 66% of these patients had severe ED"
• Dutasteride/Tamsulosin: in benign prostatic hyperplasia - Drugs Aging. 2012 May 1;29(5):405-19 - "Dutasteride 0.5 mg/day plus tamsulosin 0.4 mg/day improved lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) to a significantly greater extent than dutasteride or tamsulosin alone in men with BPH, moderate to severe LUTS and an increased risk of disease progression, according to the results of the randomized, double-blind, multinational CombAT trial. The mean change from baseline in the total International Prostate Symptom Score was significantly greater with dutasteride plus tamsulosin than with dutasteride or tamsulosin alone after 2 years (primary endpoint) and 4 years of therapy. After 4 years' therapy in the CombAT trial, the time to first acute urinary retention or BPH-related surgery (primary endpoint) significantly favoured men with symptomatic BPH who were receiving dutasteride plus tamsulosin versus those receiving tamsulosin alone, with no significant difference between recipients of dutasteride plus tamsulosin and recipients of dutasteride alone. In the CombAT trial, health-related quality of life and treatment satisfaction were improved to a significantly greater extent with dutasteride plus tamsulosin than with dutasteride or tamsulosin alone. Combination therapy with oral dutasteride plus tamsulosin was generally well tolerated in patients with symptomatic BPH in the CombAT trial" - See dutasteride (Avodart) 30 x 0.5mg capsules at International Antiaging Systems.
• Statin Use As a Moderator of Metformin Effect on Risk for Prostate Cancer Among Type 2 Diabetic Patients - Diabetes Care. 2012 Mar 28 - "Mean follow-up was ~5 years, and 7.5% had a PCa diagnosis. Statin use modified the effect of metformin on PCa incidence (P < 0.0001). Metformin was associated with a significantly reduced PCa incidence among patients on statins (HR 0.69 [95% CI 0.50-0.92]; 17 cases/533 metformin users vs. 135 cases/2,404 sulfonylureas users) and an increased PCa incidence among patients not on statins (HR 2.15 [1.83-2.52]; 22 cases/175 metformin users vs. 186 cases/1,930 sulfonylureas users). The HR of PCa incidence for those taking metformin and statins versus those taking neither medication was 0.32"
• PSA Test Cuts Prostate-Cancer Deaths -- At a Cost - WebMD, 3/14/12 - "The odds of dying from prostate cancer are 21% lower 11 years after men are offered routine screening with the controversial PSA blood test ... We more definitively show there is an advantage in screening for prostate cancer, and that the reduction in prostate cancer mortality for those men who are screened amounts to 29%"
• Heart disease may be a risk factor for prostate cancer - Science Daily, 2/8/12 - "What's good for the heart may be good for the prostate ... Having coronary artery disease increased the men's risk of prostate cancer by 35 percent, with the risk rising over time. The group was 24 percent more likely to be diagnosed with prostate cancer within the first two years of the study than men who reported no heart disease, and by four years into the study, this group's prostate cancer risk was 74 percent higher"
• EBRT More Costly, Toxic Than Other Prostate Cancer Therapies - Medscape, 2/1/12
• Study: Radioactive Seeds Beat Out Other Prostate Cancer Treatments - WebMD. 1/31/12
• Dutasteride Is Seen to Curtail Cancer Left in Prostate - NYTimes.com, 1/23/12 - "Two previous studies suggested that dutasteride and a similar drug, finasteride, could actually protect men from prostate cancer ... Three years later, the cancer had progressed in 54 men in the dutasteride group, or 38 percent, and in 70 men in the placebo group, or 48 percent"
• Study: PSA test doesn't save lives - USATODAY.com, 1/6/12 - "men randomly assigned to get PSA tests were 12% more likely to be diagnosed with prostate cancer, but no more likely to die. That suggests that 12% of men screened with the PSA were "overdiagnosed," or diagnosed with cancer that didn't need to be found, leading to unnecessary treatment ... the National Cancer Institute, which funded the $250 million trial ... it's possible that their study could have underestimated the benefits of screening. That's because only 85% of the men randomly assigned to get routine PSA screening actually did so. In the comparison arm of the trial, however, about half of the men not assigned to get a PSA decided to get one on their own" - Note:  So let's see, a quarter billion for the study and the answer is "we're not sure because many in the placebo group got the test anyway".
• MRI Highly Accurate in Guiding Prostate Biopsy - Medscape, 12/5/11 - "In the post-prostate-specific antigen era, the diagnosis of prostate cancer is made using the 10-12 core transrectal US-guided biopsy procedure. However, this initial biopsy procedure can have a miss rate of 71% ... This study evaluated whether multiparametric MRI provides a diagnostic advantage over the standard T2W MRI in this challenging clinical situation. Although combination of all 4 MRI techniques provided a perfect detection rate in this group of patients, excluding 1H-MRS from the combination was associated with a miss rate of only 6%"
• Prostate cancer may be tied to the Pill in water supply - MSNBC, 11/14/11 - "Several studies now have found an association between estrogen exposure and prostate cancer ... Birth control pills often contain a type of estrogen called ethinyloestradiol, which women taking the pills excrete in their urine. The hormone ends up in the water supply, or is taken up by plants or animals that use the water, and then passed up the food chain ... looked at prostate cancer mortality and contraceptive use in 88 countries for their analysis ... results of 'ecological' analyses like this one ... must be interpreted cautiously" - Note:  I mentioned several times about taking a quarter tablet of letrozole every third day.  It would seem like the amount of estrogen from drinking water would be minute compared to the amount of estrogen that is reduced by taking a small amount of letrozole. - See letrozole at OffshoreRX.
• Task Force to Men: Don't Get PSA Test - WebMD, 10/7/11 - "Rising PSA levels are an early sign of prostate cancer, but the test gives a false cancer signal up to 80% of the time. Moreover, not all PSA-detected prostate cancers are dangerous ... The common perception that PSA-based early detection of prostate cancer saves lives is simply not supported by the scientific evidence ... The statement already is drawing harsh criticism, particularly from the American Urological Association ... It is our feeling that, when interpreted appropriately, the PSA test provides important information ... The task force is oversimplifying a complex series of [clinical trial] results ... I think there is real evidence of benefit for PSA screening. Death rates from prostate cancer have gone down … It is hard for me to believe all that is due to better treatment"
• Tadalafil Approved for Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia - Medscape, 10/6/11 - "The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today approved tadalafil (Cialis, Eli Lilly), a phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitor, to also treat the signs and symptoms of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) as well as a combination of BPH and erectile dysfunction (ED) when the conditions coincide ... Tadalafil joins a long list of other FDA-approved drugs for BPH symptoms: finasteride (Proscar), dutasteride (Avodart), dusasteride plus tamsulosin (Jalyn), and alpha-blockers terazosin (Hytrin), doxazosin (Cardura), tamsulosin (Flomax), alfuzosin (Uroxatral), and silodosin (Rapaflo)"
• Genetics may explain why calcium increases risk for prostate cancer - Science Daily, 9/16/11 - "The team targeted a genetic allele that is more common in populations of African origin than in other populations and which is associated with regulating the absorption of calcium ... men who reported the highest intake of calcium were two times more likely to have localized and advanced prostate cancer than those who reported the lowest. Men with a genotype associated with poor calcium absorption were 59 percent less likely to have been diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer than men who genetically were the best absorbers of calcium. And, among men with calcium intake below the median, genetically poor absorbers had a 50 percent decreased risk of having advanced prostate cancer than the best absorbers"
• Serum total and HDL cholesterol and risk of prostate cancer - Cancer Causes Control. 2011 Sep 14 - "After excluding the first 10 years of follow-up, men with higher serum total cholesterol were at increased risk of overall (≥240 vs. <200 mg/dl: HR = 1.22, 95% CI 1.03-1.44, p-trend = 0.01) and advanced (≥240 vs. <200 mg/dl: HR = 1.85, 95% CI 1.13-3.03, p-trend = 0.05) prostate cancer. Higher HDL cholesterol was suggestively associated with a decreased risk of prostate cancer regardless of stage or grade ... In this population of smokers, high serum total cholesterol was associated with higher risk of advanced prostate cancer, and high HDL cholesterol suggestively reduced the risk of prostate cancer overall. These results support previous studies and, indirectly, support the hypothesis that statins may reduce the risk of advanced prostate cancer by lowering cholesterol"