Food is a powerful deterrent prostate cancer

Food is a powerful deterrent prostate cancer - For the first time, researchers have shown that healthy foods such as pomegranate, green tea, and broccoli able to fight prostate cancer.

During the six-month clinical trial at Bedford Hospital, researchers worked with 203 patients with prostate cancer. Researchers then divided the patients into two groups, the first is given healthy meals and two capsules were given a placebo drug.

After the study ended, proved that the group of patients taking the capsules are made ​​of pomegranate extract, green tea, turmeric, broccoli and experience levels of the protein antigens of cancer cells indicates 63 percent lower.

"Eating a healthy diet and lifestyle is keeping the main way to combat prostate cancer. Yet we also prove that any food supplement in the form of a powerful ward off prostate cancer," said Professor Robert Thomas, as quoted from Red Orbit.

Meanwhile, earlier there is also research that says that fried foods proven to increase the risk for prostate cancer in men.

Researchers also hope their findings could be used to help millions of men who suffer from prostate cancer.

Metabolic factors may increase mens risk of dying from prostate cancer

High blood pressure, blood sugar, blood lipids, and body mass index—characteristics that are often lumped together as the metabolic syndrome—are jointly linked with an increased risk of dying from prostate cancer. That is the conclusion of a new study published early online in CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society. The studys results suggest that public health recommendations regarding diet and lifestyle to prevent heart disease and diabetes may also decrease a mans likelihood of dying from prostate cancer.

Researchers have little knowledge about possible links between metabolic factors, separately and combined, and mens risk of being diagnosed with or dying from prostate cancer. To investigate, Christel Häggström, MSc, Tanja Stocks, PhD, both of the Umeå University in Sweden, and their colleagues analyzed information from 289,866 men enrolled in a study called the Metabolic syndrome and Cancer project. The analysis was completed under the leadership of Pär Stattin, MD, PhD, a visiting scientist at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City.

During an average follow-up time of 12 years, 6,673 men were diagnosed with prostate cancer and 961 died from the disease. Men in the highest categories of body mass index and blood pressure had a 36 percent and 62 percent increased risk of dying from prostate cancer, respectively. Also, when comparing a composite score of all metabolic factors, men with a high score were more likely to die from prostate cancer.

The study found no evidence for a link between high levels of metabolic factors and a mans risk of developing prostate cancer but revealed a link between these factors and his risk of dying from the disease. This suggests that while men with the metabolic syndrome are not more likely than others to develop prostate cancer, if they do develop it, they are more likely than other men to die from the malignancy. "These observations suggest that cardiovascular risk factors such as overweight and hypertension are involved in stimulating the progression of prostate cancer," said Dr. Stattin.

Green Tea Fights Prostate Cancer

Six cups of green tea a day may slow the progression of prostate cancer, a new study suggests.

The finding stems from research that showed prostate patients scheduled for a type of surgery known as a prostatectomy, where the prostate is removed, reduced their levels of some disease-associated inflammation by drinking lots of brewed green tea in the weeks preceding the operation. And that reduction in inflammation may inhibit tumor growth, the researchers suggested.

Their results were to be presented Thursday at the American Association for Cancer Researchs annual prevention conference in Anaheim, Calif.

The notion that the polyphenol compounds found in green tea might have a protective effect against prostate cancer has yet to be confirmed outside a laboratory setting. However, this latest report builds on previous Italian research that suggested that consuming green tea extract may help lower the risk that a precancerous condition will develop into full-blown prostate cancer.

And related research that was also presented at the cancer research conference suggested that the flavonoids found in fruits and vegetables may be associated with a lower risk of developing aggressive prostate cancer.

However, at least one urologist, Dr. Mark Soloway, chairman emeritus of urology at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, pointed to the new studys limitations, and said it was too soon to say that green tea had any impact on prostate cancer.

Scientific findings presented at meetings should be viewed as preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.

In this latest green tea study, men who drank the beverage for three to eight weeks prior to surgery experienced a noticeable drop in both serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA) concentrations and PSA protein expression by the time they went under the knife. The fall-off in such telltale signs of disease was accompanied by reductions in both disease-linked inflammation and oxidative DNA damage, the study authors said.

"To see this effect, you would need to drink a lot of green tea," stressed study author Susanne Henning, a registered dietician and adjunct professor with the University of California, Los Angeles David Geffen School of Medicine. "Two cups a day is not going to help. In fact, we had our men drink six cups spread out all throughout the day, which I think was beneficial because green tea polyphenols are excreted very rapidly, so if you drink it that way you keep your levels up. And that seems to be the important factor in keeping the protection going."

To explore the anti-cancer potential of green tea, the authors focused on 67 prostate cancer patients, all of whom were weeks away from surgery. About half the men were randomly assigned to a six-cup-a-day regimen of green tea leading up to surgery, while the others consumed water instead.

The result: Blood and urine samples analyzed alongside tissue samples taken during surgery revealed that the green tea group fared significantly better on key signs of inflammation, PSA levels and expression and DNA damage.

However, no notable difference was found between the two groups in terms of tumor cell growth.

Henning stressed the need for more research on the potential green-tea/prostate cancer connection, and her team is currently planning new animal investigations involving combinations of green tea and other natural foods.

While this research showed an association between green tea and prostate cancer, it did not prove a cause-and-effect link.

"Actually, several food agents have been under investigation for their protective impact," she noted. "Lycopene and omega-3 fatty acids, for example. So, I would say that if you have cancer and you want to make a decision about all of this, then think of incorporating all of those as a part of a lifestyle change. I know that if I was diagnosed with prostate cancer, I would try to change my lifestyle. And that would mean, in addition to eating lots of fruits and vegetables and trying to lose weight and exercising, that I would definitely drink green tea."

The University of Miamis Soloway said that while drinking green tea probably does not have a downside, this "limited study" does not confirm its impact as a prostate cancer intervention.

"[Theres] not much solid data to prove it," he said. "This is a small study, and it would take a longer study with hundreds of patients to prove its benefit."

Soloway also noted that the jury is still out on whether inflammation even plays a significant role in cancer development. "It is very much a question," he said. "Not proven at all."

But, he agreed that until larger studies come along to explore green teas potential, "it might be worth giving it a shot."

Prostate Cancer Treatments

Prostate Cancer Treatments

Of the prostate cancer treatments available, your doctor will recommend the treatment option that is best for you. The decision will depend on your overall health and how far advanced your cancer is. If the treatment recommended for you is not something youre comfortable with, for instance you may not be comfortable with external beam radiation therapy; you can give your doctor your opinion. Its important that you are at ease with the decision. Discuss it with your family as well, particularly the possible side effects and cure rate.

Oncologists specialize in certain fields. The one you are referred to will be a specialist in the treatment prescribed for you.

Watching and Waiting

The first strategy in most treatment plans is watching and waiting. The signs and symptoms that may indicate prostate cancer are also indications of other problems such as an infection in or close to your prostate. Watching and waiting is to determine which condition your symptoms are from.

During this period, blood samples will be tested for PSA levels and tissue samples may be sent for a biopsy.Elevated levels of the prostate specific antigen may point to a less serious medical problem. This is why a tissue sample may be taken; to verify or to rule out the presence of cancer. Remember that early treatment usually has a better possibility of cure.

Surgery

Men who are the best candidates for prostate cancer surgery are the ones most likely to achieve a successful recovery from the procedure. These are men with good overall health and who do not have secondary conditions that may interfere with recovery like heart problems. Surgery can lead to some serious side effects including incontinence and impotence.

Radiation

There are 3 different types of radiation therapies. External beam therapy is typically a stream of X-rays aimed at your pelvis from a device outside the body. The X-rays burn away cancer cells through repeated treatments over several weeks.

An alternative external beam therapy is Proton Beam Therapy. Instead of using X-rays, protons, which are charged particles or ions, are streamed at your pelvis, again from a device outside your body.

Brachytherapy is the introduction of several radioactive seeds directly into your prostate. They are implanted with a series of injections while you are under a general anesthetic.

All of the radiation treatments above work on the principle of burning cancer cells away with high energy particles. Radiation treatment can take place over time, and is subject to the same side effects as surgery.

Hormone Therapies

Hormone therapy is a method of chemical treatment that seeks to alter your hormone levels to halt or slow the growth of cancer cells. This procedure is temporary because most patients develop a resistance to the effectiveness of the injections after about 2 years.

Hormone therapy is not a cure and is usually recommended when the patient has a higher stage (T-3 or T-4) of prostate cancer. The idea is to prolong the patients life and slow the cancers growth.

Cryotherapy

Cryotherapy is a procedure where, during surgery, your prostate is frozen and then thawed to destroy cancer cells.

HIFU

High Intensity Focused Ultrasound uses focused ultrasound to heat and evaporate diseased tissue out of your prostate. The device is aimed using an MRI scan and targeted tissue is heated to 80°C. The result is tissue that can no longer reproduce and so cannot grow any further. Healthy tissue is spared because the effective area of the ultrasound pulse is very small and only a few cubic mm at a time can be targeted. It is done on an out-patient basis and does not affect the quality of life that some of the other treatments do. HIFU also results in fewer significant side effects than surgery or radiation. HIFU for prostate cancer is highly effective and can often be used for recurrent cancer. This is not an option, however, once the cancer has spread beyond the prostate.

Article by : Nancy Stonecutter, source : http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Nancy_Stonecutter