A Western dietary pattern was inferior to a prudent dietary pattern in terms of all-cause mortality following a diagnosis of prostate cancer, according to a study of 926 men diagnosed with nonmetastatic prostate cancer. The study defined a Western dietary pattern as higher intake of processed and red meats, high-fat dairy, and refined grains. The prudent dietary pattern was defined as higher intake of vegetables, fruits, fish, legumes, and whole grains. Researchers found:

• During 8,039 person-years of follow-up, 333 men died, 17% of them of prostate cancer.

• The Western pattern was significantly related to a higher risk of prostate cancer-specific and all-causes mortality.

• Comparing men in the highest vs lowest quartile of the Western pattern, the hazard ratios were 2.53 for prostate cancer-specific mortality and 1.67 for all-causes mortality.

• The prudent pattern was associated with significantly lower all-causes mortality; the relationship with prostate cancer-specific mortality was not statistically significant.

Citation: Yang M, Kenfield SA, Van Blarigan EL, et al. Dietary patterns after prostate cancer diagnosis in relation to disease-specific and total mortality. Cancer Prev Res. 2015;8(6):545-51. doi: 10.1158/1940-6207.CAPR-14-0442.