BOSTON, June 1 (UPI) -- Maintaining a Western diet, high in red meat, dairy and refined grains, after a prostate cancer diagnosis may increase the risk of cancer-related death when compared to diets dominated by vegetables, fruits, fish, whole grains, and healthy oils.
A new study of 926 men diagnosed with prostate cancer and followed for 14 years found that men eating a Western diet were 2.5 times more likely to die of prostate cancer-related issues and 67 percent more likely to die from any cause than men who ate a "prudent" diet.
"There is currently very little evidence to counsel men living with prostate cancer on how they can modify their lifestyle to improve survival," said Jorge Chavarro, assistant professor of nutrition and epidemiology at Harvard Chan School, in a press release. "Our results suggest that a heart-healthy diet may benefit these men by specifically reducing their chances of dying of prostate cancer."
Researchers divided the 926 men in the study into four quartiles determined specifically by diet, based on a mostly Western diet, somewhat Western diet, somewhat prudent diet and mostly prudent diet.
During the course of the study, 333 men died, with 56 deaths specifically being attributed to prostate cancer. Based on the data, men who ate a Western diet were 2.53 times more likely to die a prostate-cancer related death and 1.67 times more likely to die from another cause in comparison to the fourth quartile of participants, whose diet was the least Western.
The study is published in Cancer Prevention Research.
