Exercise, diet can reduce prostate cancer tumor risk

Eating right, exercise and other lifestyle changes may help prostate cancer patients reduce risk of aggressive tumors, U.S. researchers say. Study leader Lenore Arab of the University of California, Los Angeles, Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center said the World Cancer Research Fund lifestyle recommendations include desirable ranges of body mass index, physical activity, foods of low caloric density, fruit and non-starchy vegetables, salt, legumes, unrefined grains and red meat consumption. The study involved 2,212 African-American or Caucasian-American men ages 40-70 with newly diagnosed prostate cancer. The recommendations are intended to decrease overall risk of cancer, and are recommended for cancer survivors. The study, published online in the journal Nutrition and Cancer, found adherence to fewer than four of the eight recommendations predicted a 38 percent increased risk of aggressive tumors compared with adherence to four or more recommendations. The finding was statistically significant and similar among black and white men, despite a baseline higher risk of highly aggressive tumors among black men, the study said. "Most men are at risk of prostate cancer, but it is the level of aggressiveness of disease that is most clinically relevant," Arab said in a statement. "These findings suggest that even men with prostate cancer can take control of their disease and moderate its aggressiveness through diet and lifestyle choices."