|
 The increased risk tied to saturated fat and cholesterol was greater
for the prostate cancer patients who had not been taking
cholesterol-lowering statin drugs, researchers report in the journal
Prostate Cancer and Prostatic Diseases.
The link between saturated fat in the diet and aggressive prostate
cancer was also strongest for men of European descent, compared to
African American men, the study found.
“A diet high in saturated fat contributes to high blood cholesterol
levels,” which have already been linked to worse outcomes for
prostate cancer, said lead author Emma Allott of the University of
North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
One out of every seven men in the U.S. will be diagnosed with
prostate cancer during their lifetimes, according to the American
Cancer Society.
In Western countries, prostate cancer tends to be more common, and
people in Western nations also tend to consume more saturated fat,
the authors note.
To explore the relationship between prostate cancer and fat in the
diet, the study team used data on 1,854 men with newly-diagnosed
prostate cancer, including 321, or 17 percent, with "highly
aggressive" cancers.
As part of the North Carolina-Louisiana Prostate Cancer Project, the
men answered questions about their diet habits, their medications,
and demographic and lifestyle factors like age, race and activities.
The researchers calculated the levels of saturated fat in each man’s
diet, as well as the amounts of mono- and poly-unsaturated fats, the
types found in vegetable oils or fish.
They found that men with more aggressive prostate cancer consumed
more calories and more cholesterol every day and had a higher
percentage of calories from fat in their diets.
Among men with more aggressive prostate cancer, a greater proportion
of the total fat they consumed was the saturated kind and less of it
was polyunsaturated fat, compared to men with less aggressive cases.
[to top of second column] |
Diets highest in saturated fat were tied to an overall 51 percent
higher risk of having highly aggressive cancer, compared to diets
lowest in saturated fat. Cholesterol intake was also separately tied
to higher risk of more aggressive cancer, but only for white men.
For men who weren't taking statins, the risk of highly aggressive
cancer was increased by 71 percent with the diets highest in
saturated fat, only a 16 percent risk increase in men using statins.
“There are a number of things that men can do to reduce their risk
of advanced or lethal prostate cancer,” said Stacey Kenfield, who
researches lifestyle and diet factors to help prevent prostate
cancer at the University of California, San Francisco.
Preventive measures include “not smoking, having a normal body
weight, high physical activity, and high intake of tomatoes and dark
meat fish (e.g., tuna, mackerel, salmon, sardines), and low intake
of processed meat,” she said.
These efforts may also help prevent other diseases, such as heart
disease and diabetes, Kenfield, who was not involved in the study,
told Reuters Health by email.
People concerned about cancer “can cut down on the amount of
saturated fat in their diets by choosing lean cuts of meat and
low-fat dairy products, and by cooking with plant-based oils,” Allot
said.
“Controlling dietary saturated fat content may be important not only
for cardiovascular disease prevention and overall health, but also
for aggressive prostate cancer prevention,” she said.
SOURCE: http://go.nature.com/2dxGMzb Prostate Cancer and Prostatic
Diseases, online September 6, 2016.
[© 2016 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2016 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
