Prostate cancer as one of the most common types of cancer in men, according to the American Cancer Society. Fortunately, if caught early, the prognosis is good. Even better than treating it, is of course, avoiding it altogether. The search for the cause of prostate cancer is ongoing, and a recent study was recently completed.
An eight-year study of 29,361 men has just been completed. The study examined the impact of antioxidant supplements on the rate of prostate cancer. “There has been definite interest in their use, based on a few earlier studies that have been done” said lead researcher Richard B. Hayes, senior investigator in the division of cancer epidemiology and genetics at the U.S. National Cancer Institute.
Reporting in the Feb. 15 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Hayes’ team calculated the risk of prostate cancer for 29,361 men aged 55 to 74, all of whom were participants in the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal and Ovarian (PLC) Screening Trial.
Some of the data that was analyzed included the amount of common antioxidant supplements including vitamin C, beta-carotene, and vitamin E. Some men had been taking these supplements for many years prior to the study.
Over the total eight-year study period, 1,338 men developed prostate cancer. The results indicate that the use of antioxidant supplements had no positive impact on the risk for prostate cancer for most nonsmokers. Beta-carotene supplements did have a positive impact among men that had low dietary intake of beta-carotene.
Vitamin E did have a positive impact for smokers, according to the research. This was consistent with previous trials.
Although the three supplements studied in this trial showed little help in preventing prostate cancer, previous trials that examined other supplements did show very encouraging results.
Fish oils, which contain EPA and DHA, were found to reduce prostate cancer by 11% in men that consumed about 470 mg./day. Selenium has been found to cut prostate cancer in half. Over five clinical trials have supported this. It is recommended that men take 200 micrograms of selenium daily.
There are many treatment options for prostate cancer, and you will want to discuss these with your doctor or healthcare professional before any decision is made. A few of the choices are active surveillance, radiation or hormone therapy, chemotherapy or surgery. There are other choices and as I said before you should discuss these with your doctor.
One of the best things that you can do for your prostate is to make sure you take care of it in the first place. This may reduce your risk of prostate cancer. Just knowing some simple things such as taking vitamin E, eating plenty of fruits and vegetables and being informed about eating fats and red meat can reduce your risk of prostate cancer.
Epidemiological studies show that a high intake of anti-oxidant-rich foods is inversely related to cancer risk. While animal and cell cultures confirm the anticancer effects of antioxidants, intervention trials to determine their ability to reduce cancer risk have been inconclusive, although selenium and vitamin E reduced the risk of some forms of cancer, including prostate and colon cancer, and carotenoids have been shown to help reduce breast cancer risk. Cancer treatment by radiation and anticancer drugs reduces inherent antioxidants and induces oxidative stress, which increases with disease progression.
Vitamins E and C have been shown to ameliorate adverse side effects associated with free radical damage to normal cells in cancer therapy, such as mucositis and fibrosis, and to reduce the recurrence of breast cancer. While clinical studies on the effect of anti-oxidants in modulating cancer treatment are limited in number and size, experimental studies show that antioxidant vitamins and some phytochemicals selectively induce apoptosis in cancer cells but not in normal cells and prevent angiogenesis and metastatic spread, suggesting a potential role for antioxidants as adjuvants in cancer therapy.
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