Flavonoids Inversely Tied to Aggressive Prostate Cancer

Higher flavonoid consumption is associated with reduced odds for aggressive prostate cancer, according to a study presented at the American Association for Cancer Research's International Conference on Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research.

Researchers from the University of South Carolina in Columbia analyzed data from 920 African American and 977 European American newly diagnosed prostate cancer patients. A modified version of the National Cancer Institute Diet History Questionnaire was used to assess diet, and the intake of five subclasses of flavonoids was estimated.

The researchers found that, after adjustment for age, race, education, smoking status, and screening history, compared with the lowest tertile, the highest tertile of total flavonoid intake correlated inversely with prostate cancer aggressiveness (odds ratio [OR], 0.75; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.54 to 1.04). With increasing flavonoid intake, the odds of high aggressiveness prostate cancer were further reduced by smoking and age, with the inverse correlations strongest in men younger than 65 years of age (OR, 0.62 [95% CI, 0.40 to 0.98] and 0.67 [95% CI, 0.42 to 1.06] for the middle and highest tertiles, respectively). For current smokers, the OR was 0.25 (95% CI, 0.11 to 0.54) and 0.48 (95% CI, 0.22 to 1.06) for the middle and highest tertiles, respectively. There was no difference in the results based on race.

"We found that higher total flavonoid intake was associated with reduced odds for aggressive prostate cancer in both African American and European American men, but no individual subclass of flavonoids appeared to be protective independently," a coauthor said in a statement.

Source: HealthDay News