A different type of diet that may impact prostate cancer - low polyamine (see study)- no need to be vegan :-)

[Shanti1]

I would love to hear thoughts on this study. It is an older, small study, but there is additional supporting evidence for reduction of polyamines, which is posted after the study. Basically, the group that reduced polyamines and took antibiotics to reduce polyamine producing bacteria survived twice as long as the controls, 36 vs 17 months. The best list of polyamine content of diffrent foods I could find was here: sci-hub.tw/10.1007/s00726-0....

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Polyamine reduced diet (PRD) nutrition therapy in hormone refractory prostate cancer patients (2010). ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/201... (use sci-hub.tw to view full text)

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

Reducing polyamine uptake by selecting low polyamine-containing foodstuffs and reducing bacterial gut production can improve performance status and pain control in hormone refractory prostate cancer (HRPC) patients. Long term PRD observance and tolerance were assessed. Cancer specific survival was studied in function of PRD and time of PRD initiation.

METHODS:

Twenty-six volunteers, age: 68+/-10 years with metastatic HRPC accepted a polyamine reduced diet and partial gut decontamination with oral neomycin or nifuroxazide (750 mg daily, one week out of two). Time from HRPC to PRD initiation was 10+/-8 months. WHO performance status, EORTC pain scale, body weight, blood counts and serum proteins were regularly assessed. Sixteen other HRPC patients eating a normal diet served as "controls".

RESULTS:

Mean diet observance is 25+/-24 months. Tolerance is good. WHO performance status and EORTC pain scales were significantly improved respectively at 3 months (0.5+/-0.7 vs 0.7+/-0.9: p=0.03) and 6 months (0.5+/-0.8 vs 1+/-1.3, p=0.02) compared to initial values. Median cancer specific survival times after HRPC and PRD initiation are respectively 36 and 21 months. Eleven PRD patients started the diet before a 9 months cut-off period (after HRPC) and 15 patients after. Median cancer specific survival times for these two groups of patients are respectively 44 and 34 months, p=0.014. Median cancer specific survival times (after HRPC) for PRD patients compared to controls are 36 vs 17 months (p=0.004).

CONCLUSIONS:

Polyamine-reduced diet is well observed and tolerated. It seems to improve and/or maintain quality of life for HRPC patients. Early PRD initiation in HRPC is promising and may impact favorably cancer specific survival. These results ---open a rationale for PRD in HRPC management and warrant further investigation.

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Additional supporting studies:

Polyamine contents in current foods: a basis for polyamine reduced diet and a study of its long term observance and tolerance in prostate carcinoma patients (2007). ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/175...

Polyamine-reduced diet in metastatic hormone-refractory prostate cancer (HRPC) patients (2003). ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/126...

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl..., researchgate.net/publicatio..., ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl..., ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

[BrentW]

Interesting. Broccoli, which I have so long been told is good for me, scores poorly. I like the way table 3 lists 'muscles'. Must I give up my banana smoothie?

[Shanti1 in reply to BrentW]

Yes, I know. If one were to attempt this dietary approach, they would have to choose vegetables low on the polyamine list. Oddly, broccoli and tomatoes have high polyamines. My thought is, if someone were to try this approach, they should go all in, but if not, there is no harm in eating broccoli family foods, tomatoes, etc, in fact, there is likely benefit.

Interestingly, polyamines are linked in other studies, to antiaging and repair, but caner can utilize them and appears to be dependent on them, for growth.