AACR: Flavonoids Inversely Tied to Aggressive Prostate Cancer

Current smokers and younger men may receive the most benefit from high flavonoid intake

WEDNESDAY, Oct. 17 (HealthDay News) -- 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, held from Oct. 16 to 19 in Anaheim, Calif.

Rebecca R. George, from the University of South Carolina in Columbia, and colleagues analyzed data from 920 African-American (AA) and 977 European-American (EA) 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 to the lowest tertile, the highest tertile of total flavonoid intake correlated inversely with prostate cancer aggressiveness (odds ratio [OR], 0.75; 95 percent 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 <65 years of age (OR, 0.62 [95 percent CI, 0.40 to 0.98] and 0.67 [95 percent CI, 0.42 to 1.06] for the middle and highest tertiles, respectively). For current smokers, the OR was 0.25 (95 percent CI, 0.11 to 0.54) and 0.48 (95 percent 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.

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