"More than half of the men in our study say they take natural products believed to reduce their chances of developing prostate cancer," says Robert G. Uzzo, M.D., a urologic surgeon at Fox Chase Cancer Center and lead author of the study. "Although the preventative effectiveness of many of these supplements is not established, they are widely perceived by the public to lower the risk of developing prostate cancer."
The study evaluated questionnaires given to 333 men upon enrollment into Fox Chase's Prostate Cancer Risk Assessment Program (PRAP). Those eligible for PRAP include African American men and any man with a family history of prostate cancer. The 420-item self-administered questionnaire included questions about the use of nutritional supplements and complementary therapies. Supplemental use was divided into eight categories including vitamins, minerals, and extracts from fruits/seeds, organic compounds, flowers/bulbs, leaves/bark, roots, or animal products.
More than half (51%) of the men who completed the questionnaire reported taking one or more supplements to prevent prostate cancer. Most commonly used were vitamins such as A, B, C, D, and E (95%), minerals such as zinc, calcium and selenium (28%), and fruit/seed extracts such as saw-palmetto, soy isoflavones and flax seed (18%). More than one in four men (27%) took three or more agents.
"The use of vitamin and nutrient supplements for prostate cancer prevention has received a great deal of attention from marketers and the popular media," says Uzzo. "The use of vitamins, minerals and extracts represents a unique cultural phenomenon. The lure of complementary therap
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Contact: Karen C. Mallet
k_carter@fccc.edu
215-728-2700
Fox Chase Cancer Center
6-May-2004