Nutrition, physical activity, and lifestyle factors in prostate cancer prevention

To review current evidence for prostate cancer prevention with nutrition, physical activity, and lifestyle interventions and identify future research directions.

Multiple preclinical and observational studies have observed that diet, exercise, and lifestyle interventions may play a role in mitigating disease progression, mortality, and overall disease burden for high-grade and fatal prostate cancer. Increased vegetable and fruit intakes, decreased red meat and saturated fat intakes, and increased exercise are potentially associated with decreased risk of incident disease and increased progression-free, prostate cancer-specific, and overall survival. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) have demonstrated that selenium and vitamin C supplements are ineffective in preventing incident prostate cancer and that vitamin E supplements potentially increase incident prostate cancer risk. A large RCT of a high vegetable diet intervention among prostate cancer patients on active surveillance, the Men's Eating and Living study, will soon complete analysis. An RCT for an exercise intervention among men with metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer is currently accruing.

Although preclinical and observational studies have identified potential benefits for high vegetable, low fat, low meat diets, and increased exercise, Level I evidence is limited. To inform clinical care, future research should focus on RCTs evaluating clinical effectiveness.