Plant-based diet may lower prostate cancer risk, lead to favorable outcomes

A systematic review of 31 studies showed favorable results supporting the incorporation of a plant-based diet for men at risk for or diagnosed with prostate cancer.

The findings were presented at the American Urological Association Annual Meeting and published in the Journal of Urology.

“Men should be encouraged to adopt a plant-based diet to help improve overall and prostate health,” Natasha Gupta, MD, a clinical assistant professor in the department of urology at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine, told Healio.

Gupta and colleagues conducted a systematic review of 16 interventional studies and 15 observational studies that reported primary data on full plant-based dietary patterns and incidence among at-risk men for prostate cancer or other outcomes among patients with prostate cancer or their caregivers.

Natasha Gupta

Overall, the interventional studies focused on lifestyle modifications, including plant-based diets for men being actively monitored for localized prostate cancer or with biochemical recurrence after treatment. The results indicated short-term oncologic outcomes with improvements in health and nutrition, Gupta and colleagues reported.

Epidemiologic studies focused on risk for prostate cancer, and the findings revealed protective or null associations with plant-based eating.

“For men at risk of developing prostate cancer, those who were vegetarian or vegan were either significantly less likely or had equivalent risk of developing prostate cancer over time compared to men who ate meat and/or fish. Notably, no study showed an increased risk of developing prostate cancer with a plant-based diet.” Gupta said. “For men who already have a diagnosis of prostate cancer, those who adopted a plant-based diet had significantly improved general health and prostate cancer outcomes.”

The researchers further reported that studies evaluating the impact of a vegan diet consistently showed favorable associations with risk or outcomes. However, there was limited research on the impact that plant-based eating has on long-term disease-specific outcomes.

“These results are encouraging in light of the many benefits of plant-based diets for overall health, as well as environmental sustainability and animal welfare,” Gupta and colleagues wrote.

Reference:

Gupta N, et al. Urol J. 2022;doi:10.1097/JU.0000000000002518.04.