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.