Recent studies suggest that nutrients found primarily in vegetables and fruits can help lower the risk of prostate cancer and possibly slow its development, and those diets higher in these foods and lower in fat and meat may provide some protective benefit against the disease or its progression.
“The Men’s Eating and Living (MEAL) Study: A Randomized Trial of Diet to Alter Disease” is assessing whether a diet-based intervention to increase vegetable and fruit consumption can slow disease progression, and improve the quality of life for men with low-grade prostate cancer who are under active surveillance. Men are typically offered the option to undergo active surveillance if they meet very specific criteria, including the presence of a small low-grade tumor in their prostate. If there is a larger tumor in the prostate and/or the disease is of higher grade, then these men will likely be offered active treatment with surgery or radiation.
The active surveillance approach involves careful and close monitoring, and can postpone the side effects of active treatment, or even avoid those undesirable side effects. That is achieved by regular prostate exams and blood tests, and periodic biopsies.
