January 16, 2007 Tomatoes and broccoli — two vegetables known for their cancer-fighting qualities — are better at shrinking prostate tumors when both are part of the daily diet than when they’re eaten alone, according to a new study from University of Illinois and University of Ohio.

“When tomatoes and broccoli are eaten together, we see an additive effect,” said University of Illinois food science and human nutrition professor John Erdman. “We think it’s because different bioactive compounds in each food work on different anti-cancer pathways.”

Researchers have found that men who drink an average of four to seven glasses of red wine per week are only half as likely (52% ) to be diagnosed with prostate cancer as those who do not drink red wine. In addition, red wine appears particularly protective against advanced or aggressive cancers.

Why red wine? Scientists are focusing on plant chemicals — especially resveratrol — found in wine, in grapes and in several other fruits. Resveratrol appears to normalize certain cancer-stimulating processes in cells, upregulate vitamin D3 and counterbalance androgens, the male hormones that stimulate the prostate.

Flax is a contentious issue among prostate cancer researchers. Dr. Dean Ornish on WebMed cites Dr. Charles “Snuffy” Myers’ view of flaxseed oil as virtual fuel for prostate cancer tumors. Recommending omega-3 fatty acids in fish, Ornish notes some “disturbing research published by Dr. Charles ‘Snuffy’ Myers at the University of Virginia Medical School in Charlottesville. He has evidence indicating that flax seed oil may promote the growth of prostate tumors. In someone with prostate cancer, I would avoid flax seed oil and instead take 2-3 grams per day of fish oil.”

Yet Wendy Demark-Wahnefried, Ph.D., a researcher in Duke’s School of Nursing, continues to turn up evidence that flaxseed — not flax oil — inhibits growth of prostate cancer.

The largest study so far of how the traditional soy-rich Japanese diet impacts development of prostate cancer in Japanese men has come to a seemingly contradictory conclusion: intake of isoflavone chemicals, derived largely from soy foods, decreased the risk of localized prostate cancer but increased the risk of advanced prostate cancer.

The prospective study of 43,509 men, published in the March issue of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, suggests that the effects of isoflavones on prostate cancer development may differ according to disease stage, say researchers at the National Cancer Center in Japan.

Isoflavones may delay the progression of latent prostate cancer only, the researchers suggest. Once tumors lose estrogen-receptor beta expression and become aggressive, isoflavones may

Zinc is high in the healthy prostate. And low levels of AZGP1 in the prostate at the time of surgery predicts for increased risk of developing metastatic cancer. But a recent study has found that high dietary zinc intake raises the risk of prostate cancer about one and a half times and raises the risk of advanced prostate cancer with a high Gleason score twofold and up to a factor of 3.59:

Compared with the lowest quintile, the OR [odds ratio] for the highest quintile was 1.56 (95% CI, 1.07-2.26), with a significant trend in risk. The trend in risk was significant for advanced cancers only, the OR being 2.02 (95% CI, 1.14-3.59) for prostate cancers with a high Gleason score. CONCLUSIONS: In this large study we found a direct association between high zinc intake and prostate cancer risk, particularly for advanced cancers. Our findings allowed us to exclude a favourable effect of zinc on prostate carcinogenesis. Dietary Zinc and Prostate Cancer Risk: A Case-Control Study from Italy. Eur Urol. 2007 Feb 5

If the above sounds confusing, it is. Studies of dietary zinc effects on prostate cancer “have been conflicting and confusing,” according to Professor Leslie Costello, who has studied zinc and prostate cancer for several years. But Costello is pro-zinc.