Prostate Cancer: Prevention

To prevent prostate cancer (prostate cancer), attention must be paid to reducing individual risk factors. Behavioral risk factors

  • Diet
    • High consumption of red meat, i.e., muscle meat of pork, beef, lamb, veal, mutton, horse, sheep, goat; this is classified by the World Health Organization (WHO) as “probably carcinogenic to humans,” i.e., carcinogenicMeat and sausage products are classified as so-called “definite group 1 carcinogens” and are thus comparable (qualitatively but not quantitatively) to the carcinogenic (cancer-causing) effect of tobacco smoking. Meat products include products whose meat component has been preserved or improved in flavor by processing methods such as salting, curing, smoking, or fermenting: Sausages, sausage products, ham, corned beef, jerky, air-dried beef, canned meat.
    • Too little fruit and vegetable consumption.
    • Fried frozen food (due toconnection between frying and carcinogenesis: formation of acrylamide (group 2A carcinogen), heterocyclic amines, aldehydes and acrolein), once a week.
    • High-fat diet
    • High proportion of refined carbohydrates (sugar, white flour, rice, pasta, foods sweetened with sugar).
    • Too little fiber intake
    • Eating dinner after 10 p.m. or just before bedtime (risk increase of 26%) versus eating dinner before 9 p.m. or eating the last meal at least 2 hours before bedtime
    • Micronutrient deficiency (vital substances) – see prevention with micronutrients.
  • Stimulants
    • Alcohol – per drink (12 g alcohol) per day increased prostate cancer risk by about10%; low consumption of up to three drinks per week lowest tumor rate; complete abstinence resulted in 27% increased disease rate
  • Psycho-social situation
    • Shift work/night work, especially the alternation of early, late and night shifts – according to the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) assessment, shift work is considered “probably carcinogenic” (Group 2A carcinogen).
  • Gender behavior:
    • Earlier first sexual intercourse (OR: 1.68 if it was before age 17 instead of after age 22).
    • Promiscuity (sexual contacts with relatively frequently changing different partners): > 7 sex partners 2-fold risk (OR: 2.00).
  • Overweight (BMI ≥ 25; obesity); controversial: In a Canadian study of newly diagnosed prostate cancer with a random sample of healthy men of the same age, the following result was found:
    • BMI 25.0-29.9: lower risk of prostate cancer (odds ratio, OR = 0.87) – for both low-grade (Gleason score ≤ 6, OR = 0.83) and high-grade (OR = 0.89
    • BMI ≥ 30: lower risk of prostate cancer (odds ratio, OR = 0.72) – 0.71 (low-grade prostate cancer) and 0.73 (high-grade prostate cancer)
  • Android body fat distribution, that is, abdominal/visceral, truncal, central body fat (apple type) – there is a high waist circumference or an increased waist-to-hip ratio (THQ; waist-to-hip-ratio (WHR)) is present; waist circumference ≥ 102 cm is associated with an increased rate of prostate cancer (OR = 1.23), especially in advanced stages (OR = 1.47)When measuring waist circumference according to the International Diabetes Federation guideline (IDF, 2005), the following standard values apply:
    • Men <94 cm

    The German Obesity Society published somewhat more moderate figures for waist circumference in 2006: < 102 cm for men.

Environmental impact

  • Arsenic
  • Occupational handling of rubber, heavy metals (e.g. cadmium).
  • There is evidence that 51Cr, 59Fe, 60Co and 65Zn exposure can also trigger prostate cancer
  • Occupations: welder, battery manufacturer
  • Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB)Note: Polychlorinated biphenyls belong to the endocrine disruptors (synonym: xenohormones), which even in the smallest amounts can damage health by altering the hormonal system.

Prevention factors (protective factors)

  • Acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) – a meta-analysis demonstrated an inverse correlation between the use of ASA and the development of prostate cancer; ASA reduces the risk of prostate cancer by approximately 10%.
  • Diabetics taking metformin had a lower risk of prostate cancer compared with those taking other oral antidiabetic drugs
  • Phytoestrogens (especially soy).
  • Lycopene-rich diet (contained in tomatoes).

Other tips

  • Use of 5-alpha-reductase inhibitor(s) reduces the frequency of detection of prostate cancer and preneoplasia (high-grade prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PIN)). However, no evidence exists on the effect on tumor-specific mortality or all-cause mortality. PSA levels are lowered by 5-alpha-reductase inhibitors. In Germany, 5-alpha-reductase inhibitors are not approved for the prevention of prostate cancer.