Nutrition Bytes

Based on ecological studies and early epidemiological findings, a link has been proposed between dietary fats/fatty acids and the development of clinically apparent prostate cancer. Several hypotheses have been proposed to explain this link through biochemical mechanisms, although all remain unproven at this time. More recent epidemiological studies have further analyzed the dietary fat/fatty acid and prostate cancer link, and while suggestive, have returned largely inconsistent and inconclusive results. Results from animal and cell-culture models have been equally difficult to interpret, and these models have the additional complication that they may not be appropriate for studying the pathogenesis of human prostate cancer. In conclusion, current knowledge of dietary risk factors for developing prostate cancer is insufficient to recommend any dietary modifications at this time.