Plant-based diets, which do not exclude meat and fish, bring numerous benefits. Among these, also a 47% reduction in the risk of prostate cancer progression in men. All the details from a study by the University of California in San Francisco.
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What is the association between a post-diagnosis plant-based diet and the risk of prostate cancer progression? This is the question that some researchers at the University of California in San Francisco asked themselves. The results were published on Jama Network Open.
I STUDY
The team of scientists evaluated the disease course of 2,062 men diagnosed with early, non-metastatic prostate cancer. After following them for about 6 1/2 years, the researchers observed that patients who ate a higher intake of plant foods had a lower risk of prostate cancer progression than those with a lower intake.
In particular, in those who followed this dietary model more assiduously, there was a 47% reduction in the risk of progression compared to those who were further away from this type of diet.
THE IMPACT OF A PLANT-BASED DIET AND THE PROGRESSION OF PROSTATE CANCER
“These findings – says the research – suggest that consuming a predominantly plant-based diet may be associated with better prostate cancer-specific health outcomes among men with the disease.”
A plant-based diet does not mean the exclusion of meat and fish, but a greater prevalence of plant foods.
“Plant-based diets are increasingly popular and provide nutritional benefits among people diagnosed with various chronic diseases,” the researchers write. “However, little is known about the link between these diets and clinical outcomes after prostate cancer diagnosis.”
For this reason, the experts conclude, “although further research is needed, the study results suggest that plant-based dietary patterns may be inversely associated with the risk of prostate cancer progression.”
BECAUSE FRUITS AND VEGETABLES ARE GOOD FOR YOU
As explained in the research, the mechanisms through which a diet high in plant foods can have a positive effect are multiple. Fruit and vegetables are rich in compounds, with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory action, which protect against cancer, as well as fibre. On the contrary, foods of animal origin are linked to an increased risk of cancer onset and relapses.
DATA ON PROSTATE CANCER
In Italy, according to the Airc Foundationprostate cancer, as of November 2021, was the most common cancer in the male population and represented 18.5% of all cancers diagnosed in men.
While for the Italian Association of Medical Oncology (Aiom) and the Aiom Foundation in the last three years the cases of prostate cancer increased by 14% and, in 2023, in Italy, it affected 41,100 men, or approximately 5,000 more than in 2020. But fortunately there is also good news: more than 60% of patients manage to definitively defeat carcinoma thanks to progress made by science.
In fact, as the Airc underlines, despite the high incidence, the risk of the disease having an unfortunate outcome is low, especially if action is taken in time. Compared to 2015, in 2020 a reduction in mortality rates of 15.6% was estimated and, 5 years after diagnosis, approximately 92% of men are still alive, one of the highest percentages in the case of cancer, especially if the advanced average age of the patients is taken into account.
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