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The research is the first randomized, controlled trial to show that lifestyle changes may affect
cancer progression.
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Men with early stage prostate cancer who make intensive
changes in diet and lifestyle may stop or perhaps even
reverse the progression of their illness, according to a new
study.
The research is the first randomized, controlled trial showing
that lifestyle changes may affect the progression of any type of
cancer. Study findings are published in the September issue of the
Journal of Urology.
The study was directed by Dean Ornish, MD, clinical professor,
and Peter Carroll, MD, chair of the Department of Urology, both of
the University of California, San Francisco, and the late William
Fair, MD, chief of urologic surgery and chair of urologic oncology,
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.
The research team studied 93 men with biopsy-proven
prostate
cancer who had elected not to undergo conventional treatment for
reasons unrelated to this study. The participants were randomly
divided into either a group who were asked to make comprehensive
changes in diet and lifestyle or a comparison group who were not
asked to do so.
After one year, the researchers found that
PSA levels (a protein
marker for prostate cancer) decreased in men in the group who made
comprehensive lifestyle changes but increased in the comparison
group. There was a direct correlation between the degree of
lifestyle change and the changes in
PSA. Also, they found that serum
from the participants inhibited prostate tumor growth in vitro by 70
percent in the lifestyle-change group but only 9 percent in the
comparison group. Again, there was a direct correlation between the
degree of lifestyle change and the inhibition of prostate tumor
growth.
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Participants in the lifestyle-change group were placed on a vegan
diet consisting primarily of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and
legumes supplemented with soy, vitamins and minerals. They
participated in moderate aerobic exercise, yoga/meditation, and a
weekly support group session. A registered dietitian was available
for consultation, and a nurse case manager contacted the
participants once a week for the first three months and weekly
thereafter.
None of the lifestyle-change participants had conventional
prostate cancer treatments such as surgery, radiation, or
chemotherapy during the study, but six members of the comparison
group underwent conventional treatments because their disease
progressed. Patients in the lifestyle-change group also reported
marked improvements in quality of life.
According to Carroll, "This study provides important new
information for men with
prostate cancer and all men who hope to
prevent it. This is the first in a series of trials attempting to
better identify the exact role of diet and lifestyle in the
prevention and treatment of
prostate cancer."
"Changes in diet and lifestyle that we found in earlier research
could reverse the progression of
coronary heart disease may also
affect the progression of
prostate cancer as well. These findings
suggest that men with
prostate cancer who undergo conventional
treatments may also benefit from making comprehensive lifestyle
changes," said Ornish, who is also founder and president of the
non-profit Preventive Medicine Research Institute. "This adds new
evidence that changing diet and lifestyle may help to prevent
prostate cancer."
The researchers are continuing to follow these patients to
determine the effects of their changes in diet and lifestyle on
morbidity and mortality.
###
The research was funded by the Department of Defense via the
Henry Jackson Foundation, the Prostate Cancer Foundation, the
National Institutes of Health, the UCSF Prostate Cancer Specialized
Program of Research Excellence, the Buckshaum Family Foundation,
Highmark, Inc., the Koch Foundation, the Ellison Foundation, the
Fisher Foundation, the Gallin Foundation, the Resnick Foundation,
the Safeway Foundation, the Walton Family Foundation and the Wynn
Foundation.
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