Since the evidence on the role of diet on prostate cancer (PCa) prognosis is still controversial, we evaluated the long-term effects of fruit and vegetables consumption on survival after PCa.
A retrospective cohort study included 777 men with PCa diagnosed between 1995 and 2002 in north-eastern Italy and followed-up to 2013. A validated food-frequency questionnaire assessed the usual diet in the two years before PCa diagnosis, including detailed fruit and vegetables consumption. Adjusted hazard ratio (HR) of death with 95% confidence interval (CI) were estimated using Fine-Gray models. PCa patients with a consumption of both fruit and vegetables above the median showed a higher 15-year overall survival probability than those with lower intakes (71% vs 58%, p = 0.04; HR = 0.66, 95% CI: 0.47-0.93). Consumption of foods rich in fiber (HR = 0.59, 95% CI: 0.41-0.86) and proanthocyanidins (HR = 0.58, 95% CI: 0.40-0.82) were inversely associated with overall mortality. Interestingly, proanthocyanidins (HR = 0.52; 95% CI: 0.27-0.98) and flavonols (HR = 0.40; 95% CI: 0.19-0.84) were inversely associated also with PCa-specific mortality.
High consumption of fruit and vegetables offers an advantage in survival among the rising number of men living after a PCa diagnosis, possibly through the epigenetic effect of some nutrients. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Molecular nutrition & food research. 2016 Nov 02 [Epub ahead of print]
Martina Taborelli, Jerry Polesel, Maria Parpinel, Carmen Stocco, Silvia Birri, Diego Serraino, Antonella Zucchetto
Unit of Cancer Epidemiology, CRO Aviano National Cancer Institute, Aviano (PN), Italy. ., Unit of Cancer Epidemiology, CRO Aviano National Cancer Institute, Aviano (PN), Italy., Unit of Hygiene and Epidemiology, Department of Biological and Medical Sciences, Udine University, Udine, Italy., Venetian Cancer Registry, Veneto Region, Passaggio Gaudenzio 1, Padua, Italy.