Adherence to World Cancer Research Fund/American Institute for Cancer Research Lifestyle Recommendations Reduces Prostate Cancer Aggressiveness Among African and Caucasian Americans

Abstract

The effect of adherence to the World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) lifestyle recommendations on cancer aggressiveness is unknown. We examined associations between adherence to recommendations and risk of highly aggressive prostate cancer in research subjects enrolled in the North Carolina-Louisiana Prostate Cancer Project (PCaP). We examined associations between adherence to WCRF recommendations and risk of highly aggressive prostate cancer among 2212 newly diagnosed African Americans (AA) or Caucasian Americans (CA) aged 40–70 years in PCaP. Prostate cancer aggressiveness was based on Gleason scores, serum prostate-specific antigens, and TNM stage. Adherence to WCRF recommendations was based on point scores and odds ratios estimated. Results showed that adherence to recommendations was significantly and negatively associated with risk of a highly aggressive prostate cancer. Each additional point in the total adherence score corresponded to a 13% risk reduction. Total adherence score <4 predicted increased risk in both AA (OR = 1.36; 95% CI = 1.01–1.85) and CA (OR = 1.41; 95% CI = 1.01–1.98). Consumption of <500 g red meat per week or ≤125 total kcal/100 g solid food per day is a statistically significant protective factor in the overall cohort. Recommendations aimed at preventing all cancers also may reduce risk of highly aggressive prostate cancer.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This work was supported by the Department of Defense (grant number DAMD 17-03-2-0052) through the Prostate Cancer Project, a collaborative study. The authors thank the North Carolina Central Cancer Registry, the Louisiana Tumor Registry, and the PCaP staff, advisory committees and participants for their important contributions. The authors also thank Martha Sensel, PhD and Jasmine Yaxun Chen for assistance in writing the article.