Pilot study of dietary fat restriction and flaxseed supplementation in men with prostate cancer before surgery: exploring the effects on hormonal levels, prostate-specific antigen, and histopathologic features

• Published in: Urology (Ridgewood, N.J.) N.J.), 2001-07, Vol.58 (1), p.47-52
• Main Authors: Demark-Wahnefried, Wendy, Price, David T, Polascik, Thomas J, Robertson, Cary N, Anderson, E.Everett, Paulson, David F, Walther, Philip J, Gannon, Melissa, Vollmer, Robin T
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Biological and medical sciences; Biopsy; Cholesterol - blood; Dietary Fats; Dietary Supplements; Flax; Follow-Up Studies; Humans; In Situ Nick-End Labeling; Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Nephrology. Urinary tract diseases; Pilot Projects; Preoperative Care; Prostate-Specific Antigen - analysis; Prostatic Neoplasms - diet therapy; Prostatic Neoplasms - pathology; Prostatic Neoplasms - surgery; Testosterone - blood; Tumors of the urinary system; Urinary tract. Prostate gland
• ISSN: 0090-4295; 1527-9995
• DOI: 10.1016/S0090-4295(01)01014-7

Objectives. Dietary fat and fiber affect hormonal levels and may influence cancer progression. Flaxseed is a rich source of lignan and omega-3 fatty acids and may thwart prostate cancer. The potential effects of flaxseed may be enhanced with concomitant fat restriction. We undertook a pilot study to explore whether a flaxseed-supplemented, fat-restricted diet could affect the biomarkers of prostatic neoplasia. Methods. Twenty-five patients with prostate cancer who were awaiting prostatectomy were instructed on a low-fat (20% of kilocalories or less), flaxseed-supplemented (30 g/day) diet. The baseline and follow-up levels of prostate-specific antigen, testosterone, free androgen index, and total serum cholesterol were determined. The tumors of diet-treated patients were compared with those of historic cases (matched by age, race, prostate-specific antigen level at diagnosis, and biopsy Gleason sum) with respect to apoptosis (terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase [TdT]-mediated dUTP-biotin nick end-labeling [TUNEL]) and proliferation (MIB-1). Results. The average duration on the diet was 34 days (range 21 to 77), during which time significant decreases were observed in total serum cholesterol (201 ± 39 mg/dL to 174 ± 42 mg/dL), total testosterone (422 ± 122 ng/dL to 360 ± 128 ng/dL), and free androgen index (36.3% ± 18.9% to 29.3% ± 16.8%) (all P