[Diet and prostate cancer: from prevention to treatment]

Prostate cancer, the most frequent cancer in men over the age of 50, appears to be associated with certain nutritional risk factors. The role of these factors is revealed by epidemiological data (variation of prostate cancer incidence according to various regions of the world, modification of these incidences in relation to migratory flows of certain populations) and eating habit studies. These findings are the basis for a number of studies designed to determine the ideal diet to prevent and, if possible, contribute to the treatment of prostate cancer. The fat intake, the type of fat, the absorption of vitamins, trace elements, antioxidants (beta-carotene, lycopene), phyto-oestrogens, including soybean or plant mixtures such as PC-SPES, may all constitute nutritional factors involved in prostatic carcinogenesis. However, although a review of the literature shows that some populations appear to be more effectively protected than others by their cultural consumption of particular substances, the link with efficacy, in terms of prevention, of a diet based on this substance administered to another population has yet to be demonstrated. Although the ideal diet is unknown at the present time, some of these ingredients appear to be good candidates, such as unsaturated fats, soybean proteins, carotenoids, lycopene and vitamin E.