Nutrients may keep prostate cancer from recurring, and support healthy prostate

Article by Don Goldberg

Men’s Health: Nutrients may keep prostate cancer from recurring, and support healthy prostate

The body needs folate to make and repair DNA, and low folate levels may contribute to cancer, but results from earlier prostate cancer studies have been mixed. Doctors in this study wanted to find a link between circulating levels of folate and cancer recurring by following 135 men with prostate cancer who had the prostate gland removed.
Doctors measure prostate specific antigen (PSA) levels to help determine if cancer may be recurring, since stray prostate cells can later metastasize in lymph or bone. Compared to men with lower levels, men with higher folate levels before surgery were 58 percent less likely to have signs of cancer recur.
Reference: International Journal of Urology; May/June 2013, Vol. 39, No. 3

Doctors tested for a link between circulating nutrients and other factors related to benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), also known as enlarged prostate. BPH is a common age-related condition that can cause urinary tract symptoms such as frequent and difficult urination. In the study, researchers measured the size of the prostate in 155 men with no history or current prostate cancer who were not taking medication for BPH.
Half the men had enlarged prostates and half did not. Doctors found that those with higher circulating levels of calcium, HDL cholesterol, sex-hormone markers, or vitamin D were all less likely to have BPH.
Discussing their findings, doctors said this study adds four new independent factors that may help reduce or prevent BPH, including calcium and vitamin D.
Reference: Journal of Urology; 2013, Vol. 190, No. 2, 608-14