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.