AACR: Hops, Coffee May Help Prevent Prostate Cancer
WEDNESDAY, Dec. 9 (HealthDay News) -- Two common substances -- a hops compound and coffee -- may reduce the risk of prostate cancer. In addition, exercise may reduce the risk of death in prostate cancer patients, according to research presented this week at the American Association for Cancer Research's Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research Conference, held from Dec. 6 to 9 in Houston.
Clarissa Gerhauser, Ph.D., of the German Cancer Research Center in Heidelberg, and colleagues found that xanthohumol from hops directly binds to androgen receptors, inhibits the secretion of prostate specific antigen, and blocks the effects of testosterone in hormone-sensitive rat tissue, while Kathryn M. Wilson, Ph.D., of the Harvard Medical School in Boston, and colleagues found that, compared to men who drank no coffee, those who drank six or more cups per day of regular or decaffeinated coffee had a lower risk of developing aggressive prostate cancer (relative risk, 0.41).
In the third study, Stacey A. Kenfield, of the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, and colleagues studied the effects of exercise in 2,686 prostate cancer patients. They found that three or more hours of Metabolic Equivalent Tasks a week -- equivalent to jogging, biking, swimming or playing tennis -- was associated with a 35 percent reduced risk of overall mortality. They also found that five or more hours of vigorous activity a week was associated with reduced cancer-specific death rates.
"How these factors may work together to affect prostate cancer biologically is still being studied," Kenfield said in a statement. "For now, our data indicate that for prostate cancer survivors, a moderate amount of regular exercise may improve overall survival, while five or more hours per week of vigorous exercise may decrease the death rate due to prostate cancer specifically."
