Prostate Cancer Research

Research on Reducing the Risk

Since prostate cancer is less common in populations with low-fat, high-fiber, high-soy diets, scientists are also looking into the possibility of using diet as a prostate cancer prevention method.

 

There is still no evidence to show that switching to a healthy diet after years of eating high-fat foods will make a difference, but small research studies are testing the effects of a low-fat, high-soy diet among men who have an increased risk of prostate cancer and men who have already been treated for the disease. There is some evidence of a lower incidence of prostate cancer in men who eat lots of tomato-based foods, especially tomato sauce cooked with a little olive oil.

 

Treatment Research

New types of treatment are being tested in clinical trials. These include:

 

Cryosurgery is a treatment that uses an instrument to freeze and destroy prostate cancer cells. This type of treatment is also called cryotherapy.

 

Chemotherapy is a cancer treatment that uses drugs to stop the growth of cancer cells, either by killing the cells or by stopping the cells from dividing. When chemotherapy is taken by mouth or injected into a vein or muscle, the drugs enter the bloodstream and can reach cancer cells throughout the body (this is called systemic chemotherapy). When chemotherapy is placed directly into the spinal column, an organ, or a body cavity such as the abdomen, the drugs mainly affect cancer cells in those areas (this is called regional chemotherapy). The way the chemotherapy is given depends on the type and stage of the cancer being treated.