Pomegranate Juice May Slow Prostate Cancer Recurrence
Fri, July 7, 2006 at 04:52AM Some men who have had a prostate cancer surgically removed or killed by radiation may soon experience increases in their PSA levels; this indicates the continued presence of cancer cells. The rate of increase in the PSA level is a gauge of malignancy of the cancer cells – the shorter the time the PSA level takes to double, the worse the forecast.
A report from the Jonsson Cancer Center at UCLA describes 50 men with detectable PSA levels post-treatment. They were given a glass of pomegranate juice to drink daily. While the average PSA doubling time for men in this situation is 15 months, those who took the pomegranate juice had doubling times averaging 54 months – almost a fourfold increase.
In another part of the study, serum taken from the patients after pomegranate therapy had a 30% decrease in the numbers of prostate cancer cells raised in culture; and serum from these patients reduced cell proliferation and increased programmed cell death to a significantly greater extent than serum from non-treated men.
The researchers are enthused. They see the possibility that pomegranate juice in such men over 65 to 70 may allow them to prevent or delay the need for additional therapies like hormone treatment of chemotherapy i.e. the men will outlive their risk of dying from their cancer, something that is quite common in men with non-aggressive prostate cancer. Anyway, they are recruiting patients for a large Phase 3 clinical trial that should settle the question.
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Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) is a protein produced by the cells of the prostate gland. The PSA test measures the level of PSA in the blood. The doctor takes a blood sample, and the amount of PSA is measured in a laboratory. Because PSA is produced by the body and can be used to detect disease, it is sometimes called a biological marker or tumor marker.
It is normal for men to have low levels of PSA in their blood; however, prostate cancer or benign (not cancerous) conditions can increase PSA levels. As men age, both benign prostate conditions and prostate cancer become more frequent. The most common benign prostate conditions are prostatitis (inflammation of the prostate) and benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) (enlargement of the prostate). There is no evidence that prostatitis or BPH cause cancer, but it is possible for a man to have one or both of these conditions and to develop prostate cancer as well.
Read more about PSA testing at http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Detection/PSA