This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Saxe, G. A. Articles by Salem, C. E. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Saxe, G. A. Articles by Salem, C. E. Pubmed/NCBI databases Medline Plus Health Information Cancer Alternative Therapies Diets Prostate Cancer Vegetarian Diet Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Potential Attenuation of Disease Progression in Recurrent Prostate Cancer With Plant-Based Diet and Stress Reduction

Department of Family and Preventive Medicine, Moores UCSD Cancer Center, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, gsaxe{at}ucsd.edu

Jacqueline M. Major, MS

Department of Family and Preventive Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California.

Jacquelyn Y. Nguyen, MD

School of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California.

Karen M. Freeman, MPH

Moores UCSD Cancer Center, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California.

Tracy M. Downs, MD

Department of Surgery, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California.

Carol E. Salem, MD

Department of Surgery, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California.

A rising level of prostate-specific antigen (PSA), after primary surgery or radiation therapy, is the hallmark of recurrent prostate cancer and is often the earliest sign of extraprostatic spread in patients who are otherwise asymptomatic. While hormonal therapy may slightly extend survival in a minority of patients, it is not curative and produces side effects including hot flashes, decreased libido, and loss of bone mass. Alternatively, dietary modification may offer an important tool for clinical management. Epidemiologic studies have associated the Western diet not only with prostate cancer incidence but also with a greater risk of disease progression after treatment. Conversely, many elements of plant-based diets have been associated with reduced risk of progression. However, dietary modification can be stressful and difficult to implement. We therefore conducted a 6-month pilot clinical trial to investigate whether adoption of a plant-based diet, reinforced by stress management training, could attenuate the rate of further PSA rise. Urologists at the University of California, San Diego, and San Diego Veterans Affairs Medical Centers recruited 14 patients with recurrent prostate cancer. A pre-post design was employed in which each patient served as his own control. Rates of PSA rise were ascertained for each patient for the following periods: from the time of posttreatment recurrence up to the start of the study (prestudy) and from the time immediately preceding the intervention (baseline) to the end of the intervention (0-6 months). There was a significant decrease in the rate of PSA rise from prestudy to 0 to 6 months (P < .01). Four of 10 evaluable patients experienced an absolute reduction in their PSA levels over the entire 6-month study. Nine of 10 had a reduction in their rates of PSA rise and an improvement of their PSA doubling times. Median PSA doubling time increased from 11.9 months (prestudy) to 112.3 months (intervention). These results provide preliminary evidence that adoption of a plant-based diet, in combination with stress reduction, may attenuate disease progression and have therapeutic potential for clinical management of recurrent prostate cancer.

Key Words: prostate • prostatic neoplasms • prostate-specific antigen • PSA log slope • plant-based dite • stress reduction • complementary and alternative medicine • disease progression

Integrative Cancer Therapies, Vol. 5, No. 3, 206-213 (2006)
DOI: 10.1177/1534735406292042


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				K. I. Block Feel Better. Live Better. Get Better Integr Cancer Ther, September 1, 2008; 7(3): 119 - 121. [PDF]

				G. A. Saxe, J. M. Major, L. Westerberg, S. Khandrika, and T. M. Downs Biological Mediators of Effect of Diet and Stress Reduction on Prostate Cancer Integr Cancer Ther, September 1, 2008; 7(3): 130 - 138. [Abstract] [PDF]

				D. Ornish, M. J. M. Magbanua, G. Weidner, V. Weinberg, C. Kemp, C. Green, M. D. Mattie, R. Marlin, J. Simko, K. Shinohara, et al. Changes in prostate gene expression in men undergoing an intensive nutrition and lifestyle intervention PNAS, June 17, 2008; 105(24): 8369 - 8374. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. Y. Nguyen, J. M. Major, C. J. Knott, K. M. Freeman, T. M. Downs, and G. A. Saxe Adoption of a Plant-Based Diet by Patients with Recurrent Prostate Cancer Integr Cancer Ther, September 1, 2006; 5(3): 214 - 223. [Abstract] [PDF]