(Press-News.org) Replacing carbohydrates and animal fat with vegetable fat may be associated with a lower risk of death in men with nonmetastatic prostate cancer, according to a report published Online First by JAMA Internal Medicine, a JAMA Network publication.
"Nearly 2.5 million men currently live with prostate cancer in the United States, yet little is known about the association between diet after diagnosis and prostate cancer progression and overall mortality," according to the study background.
Erin L. Richman, Sc.D., of the University of California, San Francisco, and colleagues at UCSF examined fat intake after a diagnosis of prostate cancer in relation to lethal prostate cancer and all-cause mortality. The study included 4,577 men diagnosed with nonmetastatic prostate cancer between 1986 and 2010 who were enrolled in the Health Professionals Follow-up Study.
Researchers noted 315 lethal prostate cancer events and 1,064 deaths during a median (midpoint) follow-up of 8.4 years. Replacing 10 percent of calories from carbohydrates with vegetable fat was associated with a 29 percent lower risk of lethal prostate cancer and a 26 percent lower risk of death from all-cause mortality, according to the study results.
"In this prospective analysis, vegetable fat intake after diagnosis was associated with a lower risk of lethal prostate cancer and all-cause mortality," the authors comment. The authors note oils and nuts were among the top sources of vegetable fats in the study population.
Crude rates of lethal prostate cancer (per 1,000 person-years) comparing the highest and lowest quintiles of fat intake were: 7.6 vs. 7.3 for saturated; 6.4 vs. 7.2 for monounsaturated; 5.8 vs. 8.2 for polyunsaturated; 8.7 vs. 6.1 for trans; 8.3 vs. 5.7 for animal; and 4.7 vs. 8.7 for vegetable fat. For all-cause mortality, crude death rates (per 1,000 person-years) comparing the highest and lowest quintiles of fat intake were: 28.4 vs. 21.4 for saturated; 20.0 vs. 23.7 for monounsaturated; 17.1 vs. 29.4 for polyunsaturated; 32.4 vs. 17.1 for trans; 32.0 vs. 17.2 for animal; and 15.4 vs. 32.7 for vegetable fat, according to the study results.
"Overall, our findings support counseling men with prostate cancer to follow a heart-healthy diet in which carbohydrate calories are replaced with unsaturated oils and nuts to reduce the risk of all-cause mortality. … The potential benefit of vegetable fat consumption for prostate cancer-specific outcomes merits further research," the authors conclude.
###
(JAMA Intern Med. Published online June 10, 2013. doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2013.6536. Available pre-embargo to the media at http://media.jamanetwork.com.)
Editor's Note: This work was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Defense and the Prostate Cancer Foundation. Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, financial disclosures, funding and support, etc.
Commentary: Dietary Fat, Reduced Prostate Cancer Mortality
In an invited commentary, Stephen J. Freedland, M.D., of the Duke University Medical Center, Durham, N.C., writes: "Using data from food frequency questionnaires completed every four years during follow-up, they found that men who consumed more vegetable fat had a lower risk of prostate cancer death."
"Thus, in the absence of randomized trial data, it is impossible to use these data as 'proof' that vegetable intake lowers prostate cancer risk, and the authors have carefully avoided such statements," Freedland continues.
"When counseling patients, I remind them that obesity is the only known modifiable risk factor linked with prostate cancer mortality to date. Thus, avoiding obesity is essential. Exactly how this should be done remains unclear, although the data by Richman et al suggest that substituting healthy foods (i.e. vegetable fats) for unhealthy foods (i.e. carbohydrates) may have a benefit. Determining whether this benefit is due to reduced consumption of carbohydrates or greater intake of vegetables will require future prospective randomized trials," Freedland concludes.
(JAMA Intern Med. Published online June 10, 2013. doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2013.7744. Available pre-embargo to the media at http://media.jamanetwork.com.)
Editor's Note: This author is supported in part by a grant from the National Institutes of Health. Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, financial disclosures, funding and support, etc. An audio podcast with Drs. Richman and Freedland will be available on the JAMA Internal Medicine website when the embargo lifts.
Effect of use of vegetable fat on risk of death in men with prostate cancer
2013-06-11
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Association between hypoglycemia, dementia in older adults with diabetes
2013-06-11
A study of older adults with diabetes mellitus (DM) suggests a bidirectional association between hypoglycemic (low blood glucose) events and dementia, according to a report published Online First by JAMA Internal Medicine, a JAMA Network publication.
There is a growing body of evidence that DM may increase the risk for developing cognitive impairment, including Alzheimer disease and vascular dementia, and there is research interest in whether DM treatment can prevent cognitive decline. When blood glucose declines to low levels, cognitive function is impaired and severe ...
Low diastolic blood pressure may be associated with brain atrophy
2013-06-11
Low baseline diastolic blood pressure (DBP) appears to be associated with brain atrophy in patients with arterial disease, whenever declining levels of blood pressure (BP) over time among patients who had a higher baseline BP were associated with less progression of atrophy, according to a report published Online First by JAMA Neurology, a JAMA Network publication.
"Studies have shown that both high and low blood pressure (BP) may play a role in the etiology of brain atrophy. High BP in midlife has been associated with more brain atrophy later in life, whereas studies ...
Genetic research clarifies link between hypertension and vitamin D deficiency
2013-06-11
Paris, France: Low levels of vitamin D can trigger hypertension, according to the world's largest study to examine the causal association between the two. Although observational studies have already shown this link, a large-scale genetic study was necessary before the cause and effect could be proven, the annual conference of the European Society of Human Genetics (ESHG) will hear today (Tuesday).
Dr. Vimal Karani S, from the Institute of Child Health, University College London, London, UK, will tell the meeting that data from the D-CarDia collaboration, involving 35 ...
UMD scientists publish key findings on regional, global impact of trade on the environment
2013-06-11
COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- In the wake of concerns over climate change and other emergent environmental issues, both individuals and governments are examining the impact of consumer and producer behavior and policies. In two new studies, three researchers from the University of Maryland's Department of Geographical Sciences publish groundbreaking findings on the environmental impact of globalization, production and trade at both regional and international scales, and anticipate that their research will inform key environmental policies and consumer and corporate attitudes in ...
Medicare beneficiaries substantially more likely to use brand-name drugs than VA patients
2013-06-11
PITTSBURGH, June 10, 2013 – Medicare beneficiaries with diabetes are two to three times more likely to use expensive brand-name drugs than a comparable group of patients treated within the VA Healthcare System, according to a nationwide study by researchers from the University of Pittsburgh, VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System and Dartmouth College.
Spending in Medicare Part D would have been an estimated $1.4 billion less in 2008 if brand-name and generic drug use matched that of the VA for the medications studied. The report, the first large-scale comparison of prescription ...
Unfrozen mystery: H2O reveals a new secret
2013-06-11
Washington, D.C.—Using revolutionary new techniques, a team led by Carnegie's Malcolm Guthrie has made a striking discovery about how ice behaves under pressure, changing ideas that date back almost 50 years. Their findings could alter our understanding of how the water molecule responds to conditions found deep within planets and could have implications for energy science. Their work is published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
When water freezes into ice, its molecules are bound together in a crystalline lattice held together by hydrogen bonds. ...
Men with prostate cancer should eat healthy vegetable fats
2013-06-11
Men with prostate cancer may significantly improve their survival chances with a simple change in their diet, a new study led by UC San Francisco has found.
By substituting healthy vegetable fats – such as olive and canola oils, nuts, seeds and avocados – for animal fats and carbohydrates, men with the disease had a markedly lower risk of developing lethal prostate cancer and dying from other causes, according to the study.
The research, involving nearly 4,600 men with non-metastatic prostate cancer, could help with the development of dietary guidelines for men with ...
To germinate, or not to germinate, that is the question…
2013-06-11
Scientists at the University of York have uncovered new insights into the way seeds use gene networks to control when they germinate in response to environmental signals.
Timing of seed germination is crucial for survival of plants in the wild and is also important for commercial seed production where there is a need to ensure uniform growth.
A cold environment can signal an imminent winter so the mother plant produces dormant seeds that will not grow until the following spring. A warmer environment can signal an early summer with the mother plant producing seeds that ...
Reputation can trump money
2013-06-11
Whether it's an effort to increase recycling rates, reduce energy usage or cut carbon emissions, the conventional wisdom says that the best way to get people to do the right thing is to make it worth their while with cold, hard cash.
But Harvard researchers say there may be an easier, cheaper way – by appealing to people's reputation, not their wallets.
Using enrollment of thousands of people in a California blackout prevention program as an experimental test bed, a team of researchers that included Erez Yoeli, a researcher at the Federal Trade Commission, Moshe Hoffman, ...
Shape of nanoparticles points the way toward more targeted drugs
2013-06-11
LA JOLLA, Calif., June 10, 2013 — Conventional treatments for diseases such as cancer can carry harmful side effects—and the primary reason is that such treatments are not targeted specifically to the cells of the body where they're needed. What if drugs for cancer, cardiovascular disease, and other diseases can be targeted specifically and only to cells that need the medicine, and leave normal tissues untouched?
A new study involving Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute's Erkki Ruoslahti, M.D., Ph.D., contributing to work by Samir Mitragotri, Ph.D., at the University ...