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Men with prostate cancer who eat the most plant foods have a 47% lower risk of their cancer progressing, a study of 2,062 men has found.
Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco studied men with non-metastatic prostate cancer enrolled at 43 US urology practices in the CaPSURE registry, who filled in detailed food questionnaires after diagnosis and were followed for a median of 6.5 years. Men in the top fifth of the plant-based diet index had a 47% lower risk of progression, meaning recurrence, further treatment, spread to bone or death from prostate cancer, than those in the bottom fifth. Among men with higher-grade tumors, the healthiest plant-based eaters had a 55% lower risk. The study is published in JAMA Network Open.
It is observational, and the authors say their findings need replicating. First author Vivian Liu said in the UCSF release:
This adds to numerous other health benefits associated with consuming a primarily plant-based diet, such as a reduction in diabetes, cardiovascular disease and overall mortality.
It follows February's study linking a plant-based diet to better sexual and urinary health in prostate cancer survivors, and earlier work tying healthy plant foods to lower risk of aggressive prostate cancer.
More plants, more hope!