The Promise of Prostate Cancer Research
Research on Prostate Cancer Prevention
Researchers are looking for ways to prevent prostate cancer:
- Diet: Some studies suggest that eating foods that have tomatoes in them may help protect men from prostate cancer. Lycopene is an antioxidant in tomatoes and some other fruits and vegetables. Research is in progress to see if lycopene can help prevent prostate cancer. A diet low in fat is also under study.
- Dietary supplements: The Selenium and Vitamin E Cancer Prevention Trial (SELECT) is studying these two supplements. The goal of the study is to learn whether these supplements can reduce the risk of developing prostate cancer.
- Drug: The Prostate Cancer Prevention Trial was a large study to test a drug that doctors thought might lower the risk of prostate cancer. The drug is finasteride. In the study, the drug did reduce the chance of developing prostate cancer. However, men who developed prostate cancer while taking the drug were more likely to have tumors that seemed to be high-grade. High-grade cancer grows and spreads more quickly than low-grade cancer. Researchers are now studying tumors from men in the study to see if they were really high-grade or only looked that way. If you are concerned about getting prostate cancer, you may want to talk with your doctor about the potential benefits and possible risks of taking finasteride. You also may consider taking part in another prostate cancer prevention trial.
