Pomegranate juice may benefit men treated for localized prostate cancer http://psa-rising.com/foodnews/2009/04/pomegranate-juice-may-benefit-men-treated-for-localized-prostate-cancer/#content
Pomegranate juice may slow the progression of post-treatment prostate cancer recurrence, according to new long-term research results being presented at the 104th Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Urological Association (AUA), April 2009.
Researchers found that men who have undergone treatment for localized prostate cancer could benefit from drinking pomegranate juice by seeing a significant slowing of the rate of PSA rise.
The two-stage clinical trial followed a total of 48 participants over six years. Eligible men had a rising PSA after surgery or radiotherapy, a PSA greater than 0.2 ng/ml and less than 5 ng/ml and a Gleason score of 7 or lower.
Patients in the “active” arm of the study are prescribed eight ounces of pomegranate juice daily. Currently, in the sixth year of treatment, the men who are drinking the pomegranate juice and who remain on the study have a median total follow-up of 56 months. The pomegranate juice appears to be impacting their PSA doubling time.
Researchers compared active patients, who remain on the study, with non-active patients (not drinking juice), who no longer remain on the study. Though these two groups demonstrated similar mean PSA doubling times at baseline, both the PSA doubling time prolongation and the decline in median PSA slope were greater in active patients when compared to non-active patients.
At the start of the study, patients showed a median PSA doubling time of
15.4 months (relatively fast and aggressive). After treatment, the median doubling time has stretched to60 months (5 years), with a median PSA slope decrease of 60 percent, 0.06 to 0.024. The men continue to experience a significant slowing of their PSA doubling time following treatment.
“This study suggests that pomegranate juice may effectively slow the progression of prostate cancer after unsuccessful treatment,” said Christopher Amling, MD, an AUA spokesman. “This finding and other ongoing research might one day reveal that pomegranate juice is an effective prostate cancer preventative agent as well.”
Parts of this ongoing study suggest that some patients may be more sensitive to the effects of pomegranate juice on PSA doubling time.
Phase three of this study is currently underway to further evaluate the benefits of pomegranate juice in a placebo-controlled manner.
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