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I have been getting more and more hysterical emails from people who have read that flax has been shown to increase the risk of, or cause prostate cancer. For one thing, there is zero data to support that. What there is, are some epi studies that have found a positive correlation between alpha linolenic acid (the Omega-3 lipid found in flax and other oils/seeds) and prostate cancer. Correlation DOES NOT equal causation. Also, there is in vitro and invivo studies that point to flax and constituents of flax as having anti cancer effects. The picture is far from clear, but the data leans heavily in the direction that flax has anti cancer effects in my view. Below is a recent study in fact that found flax directly reduced prostate cancer biomarkers. It’s interesting to note their testosterone went down, but I attribute that to the low fat diet vs the flax. However, more research is clearly needed. Me, I will continue to use my flax oil...
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Urology 2001 Jul;58(1):47-52
Pilot study of dietary fat restriction and flaxseed supplementation
in men with prostate cancer before surgery: exploring the effects on
hormonal levels, prostate-specific antigen, and histopathologic
features.
Demark-Wahnefried W, Price DT, Polascik TJ, Robertson CN, Anderson EE,
Paulson DF, Walther PJ, Gannon M, Vollmer RT.
Abstract:
Objectives. Dietary fat and fiber affect hormonal levels and may
influence cancer progression. Flaxseed is a rich source of lignan
and omega-3 fatty acids and may thwart prostate cancer. The
potential effects of flaxseed may be enhanced with concomitant fat
restriction. We undertook a pilot study to explore whether a
flaxseed-supplemented, fat-restricted diet could affect the
biomarkers of prostatic neoplasia.Methods. Twenty-five patients
with prostate cancer who were awaiting prostatectomy were
instructed on a low-fat (20% of kilocalories or less),
flaxseed-supplemented (30 g/day) diet. The baseline and follow-up
levels of prostate-specific antigen, testosterone, free androgen
index, and total serum cholesterol were determined. The tumors of
diet-treated patients were compared with those of historic cases
(matched by age, race, prostate-specific antigen level at
diagnosis, and biopsy Gleason sum) with respect to apoptosis
(terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase [TdT]-mediated dUTP-biotin
nick end-labeling [TUNEL]) and proliferation (MIB-1). Results. The
average duration on the diet was 34 days (range 21 to 77), during
which time significant decreases were observed in total serum
cholesterol (201 +/- 39 mg/dL to 174 +/- 42 mg/dL), total
testosterone (422 +/- 122 ng/dL to 360 +/- 128 ng/dL), and free
androgen index (36.3% +/- 18.9% to 29.3% +/- 16.8%) (all P <0.05).
The baseline and follow-up levels of prostate-specific antigen
were 8.1 +/- 5.2 ng/mL and 8.5 +/- 7.7 ng/mL, respectively, for
the entire sample (P = 0.58); however, among men with Gleason sums
of 6 or less (n = 19), the PSA values were 7.1 +/- 3.9 ng/mL and
6.4 +/- 4.1 ng/mL (P = 0.10). The mean proliferation index was 7.4
+/- 7.8 for the historic controls versus 5.0 +/- 4.9 for the
diet-treated patients (P = 0.05). The distribution of the
apoptotic indexes differed significantly (P = 0.01) between
groups, with most historic controls exhibiting TUNEL categorical
scores of 0; diet-treated patients largely exhibited scores of 1.
Both the proliferation rate and apoptosis were significantly
associated with the number of days on the diet (P = 0.049 and P =
0.017, respectively). Conclusions. These pilot data suggest that a
flaxseed-supplemented, fat-restricted diet may affect prostate
cancer biology and associated biomarkers. Further study is needed
to determine the benefit of this dietary regimen as either a
complementary or preventive therapy.
___________________________________________
Urology 2001 Jul;58(1):47-52
Pilot study of dietary fat restriction and flaxseed supplementation
in men with prostate cancer before surgery: exploring the effects on
hormonal levels, prostate-specific antigen, and histopathologic
features.
Demark-Wahnefried W, Price DT, Polascik TJ, Robertson CN, Anderson EE,
Paulson DF, Walther PJ, Gannon M, Vollmer RT.
Abstract:
Objectives. Dietary fat and fiber affect hormonal levels and may
influence cancer progression. Flaxseed is a rich source of lignan
and omega-3 fatty acids and may thwart prostate cancer. The
potential effects of flaxseed may be enhanced with concomitant fat
restriction. We undertook a pilot study to explore whether a
flaxseed-supplemented, fat-restricted diet could affect the
biomarkers of prostatic neoplasia.Methods. Twenty-five patients
with prostate cancer who were awaiting prostatectomy were
instructed on a low-fat (20% of kilocalories or less),
flaxseed-supplemented (30 g/day) diet. The baseline and follow-up
levels of prostate-specific antigen, testosterone, free androgen
index, and total serum cholesterol were determined. The tumors of
diet-treated patients were compared with those of historic cases
(matched by age, race, prostate-specific antigen level at
diagnosis, and biopsy Gleason sum) with respect to apoptosis
(terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase [TdT]-mediated dUTP-biotin
nick end-labeling [TUNEL]) and proliferation (MIB-1). Results. The
average duration on the diet was 34 days (range 21 to 77), during
which time significant decreases were observed in total serum
cholesterol (201 +/- 39 mg/dL to 174 +/- 42 mg/dL), total
testosterone (422 +/- 122 ng/dL to 360 +/- 128 ng/dL), and free
androgen index (36.3% +/- 18.9% to 29.3% +/- 16.8%) (all P <0.05).
The baseline and follow-up levels of prostate-specific antigen
were 8.1 +/- 5.2 ng/mL and 8.5 +/- 7.7 ng/mL, respectively, for
the entire sample (P = 0.58); however, among men with Gleason sums
of 6 or less (n = 19), the PSA values were 7.1 +/- 3.9 ng/mL and
6.4 +/- 4.1 ng/mL (P = 0.10). The mean proliferation index was 7.4
+/- 7.8 for the historic controls versus 5.0 +/- 4.9 for the
diet-treated patients (P = 0.05). The distribution of the
apoptotic indexes differed significantly (P = 0.01) between
groups, with most historic controls exhibiting TUNEL categorical
scores of 0; diet-treated patients largely exhibited scores of 1.
Both the proliferation rate and apoptosis were significantly
associated with the number of days on the diet (P = 0.049 and P =
0.017, respectively). Conclusions. These pilot data suggest that a
flaxseed-supplemented, fat-restricted diet may affect prostate
cancer biology and associated biomarkers. Further study is needed
to determine the benefit of this dietary regimen as either a
complementary or preventive therapy.
