Veggies may halve cancer risk

http://www.health24.com/news/Prostate/1-941,41878.asp
Men may be able to halve their risk of aggressive prostate cancer by adding large amounts of broccoli and cauliflower to their menu. However, the overall risk of prostate cancer was not changed.

In a study of nearly 30 000 men, Dr Richard B. Hayes of the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Maryland and colleagues found that men who ate more than a serving of either vegetable each week had roughly half the risk of developing advanced-stage prostate cancer - that had spread beyond the prostate gland - compared with their peers who ate these vegetables less than once a month.

A number of studies have linked high fruit and vegetable diets with lower prostate cancer risk, but these results have been mixed.

Few investigators have looked at advanced disease, Hayes and his team note in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

Men who ate veggies had lower risk

Hayes and his colleagues looked at 29 361 men who were being followed as part of the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal and Ovarian Cancer Screening Trial.

During more than four years of follow-up, 1 338 of the men developed prostate cancer.

While there was no overall link between fruit and vegetable intake and prostate cancer risk, men who ate the most veggies had a 49 percent lower risk of being diagnosed with prostate cancer that had advanced to stage III or IV (on a scale of I to IV), the researchers found.

Most of the effect appeared to be due to cruciferous vegetables, which include Brussels sprouts, cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower; larger amounts of any vegetables in this family cut risk by 40 percent.

Broccoli and cauliflower appeared to have the biggest impact. Men who ate broccoli more than once a week had a 45 percent lower risk of advanced prostate cancer than those who ate the vegetable less than once a month, while eating cauliflower this often cut risk by 52 percent.

Veggies reduced risk of aggressive disease

There was also a tendency toward reduced risk of aggressive disease among men who ate raw or cooked spinach at least twice weekly, compared to those who ate the vegetable less than once a month.

Cruciferous vegetables are rich in glucosinolates, note Hayes and his team, which can produce other chemicals with anti-carcinogenic effects. The vegetables also are powerful antioxidants.

If it is ultimately found that these vegetables directly lower the risk of aggressive prostate cancer, "a possible means to reduce the burden of this disease may be primary prevention through increased consumption of broccoli, cauliflower, and possibly spinach," they conclude. – (Reuters Health)

Herbs, Lifestyle Changes May Reduce Symptoms of Enlarged Prostate

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/15689.php

Symptoms of an enlarged prostate - known medically as benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) - can range from a weak, slow urinary stream, to hesitancy and straining to urinate, to an inability to empty the bladder completely, to more serious complications including recurrent urinary tract infections and kidney damage.

If a man lives long enough, he will almost certainly experience some degree of BPH. Although 50%-60% of men with this condition may never develop any symptoms, BPH can make life miserable. The November issue of the Harvard Men's Health Watch examines the safety and effectiveness of several herbs commonly used to reduce BPH symptoms and offers practical lifestyle tips that can ease living with this prostate problem.

Among herbal remedies, saw palmetto seems to be the most promising. One large analysis of studies done on this herb found that saw palmetto reduced nighttime urination by 25% and other bothersome complaints by 28% when compared to a placebo. Side effects reported were mild and did not differ significantly from problems that the men attributed to the placebos.

The November issue also offers a few simple adjustments that can reduce the bother of BPH:

-- Reduce your consumption of fluids, particularly after dinner.

-- Limit your use of alcohol and caffeine, and avoid them after about 3 p.m.; both increase urine flow.

-- Avoid medications that stimulate muscles in the bladder neck and prostate, as well as medications that weaken bladder contractions.

-- Never pass up a chance to use the bathroom, even if your bladder does not feel full.

Common Pain Killers Can Mask Signs of Prostate Cancer

Common Pain Killers Can Mask Signs of Prostate Cancer
http://www.healthnews.com/family-health/mens-health/common-pain-killers-can-mask-signs-prostate-cancer-1743.html

Common painkillers taken on a regular basis, such as ibuprofen and aspirin, appear to lower a man's PSA level, the blood biomarker used by doctors to help gauge whether a man is at a risk of getting prostate cancer.

The authors of this new study, however, caution that men should not take the painkillers in an effort to prevent prostate cancer. An author on this study Eric A Singer M.D., M.A., a urology resident at the University of Rochester Medical Center, said, "We showed that men who regularly took certain medications like aspirin and other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or NSAIDS, had a lower serum PSA level.... But there's not enough data to say that men who took the medications were less likely to get prostate cancer. This was a limited study, and we do not know how many of those men actually got prostate cancer."