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A California
researcher reports that a study of 84 men suggests that a
low-fat diet, plus lifestyle changes, may slow or reverse
the progression of prostate cancer in patients with early-stage
disease.
Dr. Dean
Ornish, a University of California, San Francisco professor
and cardiologist who has long promoted low-fat diets to combat
heart disease, presented his findings at the Harvard University
Scientific Conference on Complementary, Alternative &
Integrative Medicine.
The men
in the study, all newly diagnosed with prostate specific antigen
(PSA) levels between 4 and 10 and "moderate" Gleason
scores of under 7, decided to forego medical treatments and
employ a strategy known as "watchful waiting."
Half the
men were assigned to a control group in which their condition
was simply monitored. The other half adopted Ornish's regimen
of lifestyle changes, including a low-fat diet consisting
mostly of plant-based foods such as fruits, vegetables, grains,
beans, and soybeans. Participants also walked a half hour
a day, took part in daily stress reduction exercises such
as yoga, meditation or stretching, and attended a weekly support
group meeting.
While
those in the control group saw no changes in their PSA scores
after three months, those in the Ornish program saw their
scores drop, on average, from 6.3 to 5.7, he reported. After
one year, the scores of those in the control group had increased,
while those of the subjects in the Ornish group remained lower.
None of
the men in the low-fat diet group underwent surgery or radiation
during the study period, but seven of those in the control
group did.
A number
of cancer specialists suggested that the study be viewed with
caution.
Dr. Joel
B. Nelson, chairman of urology at the University of Pittsburgh
School of Medicine, observed that the number of men in the
study was small and the results did not show that anyone was
cured.
"Although
a decline in production of PSA would be consistent with a
tumor that is behaving in [a non-aggressive] fashion, it certainly
doesn't prove that the cancer wouldn't progress," he
said.
Ornish
himself said he was not encouraging patients to use his program
instead of conventional treatment, but said they might want
to discuss it with their doctors and consider it as a possible
adjunct to their treatment.
Source:
Prostate Cancer
Week of April 21, 2002
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