Dietary patterns based on the Mediterranean diet and DASH diet are inversely associated with high aggressive prostate cancer in PCaP

Abstract

Background: Several foods and nutrients have been linked to the development of prostate cancer, but the association between healthy dietary patterns and prostate cancer aggressiveness is less studied. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between the Mediterranean diet (MED) and Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet scores and prostate cancer aggressiveness by race.

Methods: Data from the population-based, case-only North Carolina-Louisiana Prostate Cancer Project (PCaP) were used to examine the association between diet quality, measured by MED and DASH scores, and prostate cancer aggressiveness in 1899 African American (AA) and European American (EA) research subjects. Dietary intake was assessed using a modified National Cancer Institute Diet History Questionnaire. Logistic regression was used to estimate adjusted odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for high versus low-intermediate aggressive prostate cancer.

Results: Higher MED scores were inversely associated with high aggressive prostate cancer overall (OR: 0.66; 95% CI: 0.46, 0.95 for high versus low scores); results were similar for AA and EA men. A weaker inverse association between DASH scores and prostate cancer aggressiveness was found (OR: 0.76; 95% CI: 0.55, 1.06).

Conclusions: Higher diet quality, as represented by a Mediterranean-style diet or DASH diet, may reduce the odds of high aggressive prostate cancer.

Keywords: Cancer aggressiveness; DASH diet; Dietary patterns; Mediterranean diet; Prostate cancer.