Prostate cancer is one of the deadly cancers. According to statistics, one out of six American men will develop prostate cancer at some point in their life while more than a third of them will experience a recurrence after undergoing treatment, thus putting them at a higher risk of dying of the disease.

Diet changes with stress management training could be effective in slowing or halting the spread of the deadly prostate cancer. Such are the suggestions of a new research study from the Moores Cancer Center and School of Medicine at University of California in San Diego.

The said study looked closer into the changes in the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels (a prostate cancer indicator) with respect to a plant-based diet and stress reduction.

Patients in that 6-month study were taught to increase consumption of plant-based foods such as whole grains, cruciferous and leafy green vegetables, beans and legumes, and fruit, decrease the intake of meat, dairy products and refined carbohydrates and were also provided with stress management training such as meditation, yoga and t'ai chi exercises.

"The magnitude of effect of these findings is the strongest observed to date among dietary and nutritional interventions in this patient population," said Cancer Center member Gordon Saxe, M.D., Ph.D., assistant professor of family and preventive medicine at UCSD School of Medicine.

"These results provide preliminary evidence that adoption of a plant-based diet, in combination with stress reduction, may slow, stop, or perhaps even reverse disease progression and have therapeutic potential for management of recurrent prostate cancer. Further research is needed to validate these findings and establish the long-term effectiveness of this intervention."

Study results are published in the September issue of Integrative Cancer Therapies.

More details from UC-San Diego School of Medicine.