Prostate cancer progression and mortality: a review of diet and lifestyle factors

Purpose: To review and summarize evidence on the role of diet and lifestyle factors and prostate cancer progression, with a specific focus on habits after diagnosis and the risk of subsequent disease recurrence, progression, or death.

Methods: Given the well-documented heterogeneity of prostate cancer and the long survivorship of the majority of diagnoses, our goal was to summarize and describe modifiable risk factors for clinically relevant prostate cancer. We focused where possible on epidemiologic studies of post-diagnostic habits and prostate cancer progression, defined as recurrence (e.g., PSA risk, secondary treatment), metastasis, or death. Where data were limited, we also describe evidence on risk factors and indicators of prostate cancer aggressiveness at diagnosis.

Results: A variety of dietary and lifestyle factors appear to affect prostate cancer progression. Several generally widely recommended lifestyle factors such as not smoking, maintaining a healthy body weight, and regular vigorous physical exercise also appear to affect prostate cancer progression. Several dietary factors, such as tomato sauce/lycopene, cruciferous vegetables, healthy sources of vegetable fats, and coffee, may also have a role in reducing risk of prostate cancer progression.

Conclusion: Diet and lifestyle factors, in particular exercise and smoking cessation, may reduce the risk of prostate cancer progression and death. These promising findings warrant further investigation, as their overall impact might be large.