Q: I’m thinking about taking a special supplement for prostate health. It contains many ingredients, mostly vitamins and minerals such as complex B, vitamin C, vitamin E, selenium and zinc. I checked the doses, and they don’t seem to be excessively high. I think the supplement is safe, but it is expensive. Can these types of supplements prevent prostate cancer?
A: Good timing on your question. The National Cancer Institute just stopped a study called the SELECT trial. The study was looking at whether vitamin E or selenium supplements would help prevent prostate cancer. The study started in 2001. A preliminary review of the data showed that men taking vitamin E pills, selenium pills or both had the same risk of developing prostate cancer as the men taking a placebo.
This was another downer for vitamin E. Vitamin E has antioxidant properties, and vitamin E supplements had gained popularity as likely cancer fighters. But the most recent studies don’t support the use of vitamin E supplements to decrease your chance of getting cancer.
Along with vitamin E, selenium supplements have been promoted to improve prostate health for many years. Selenium by itself or combined with vitamin E did not decrease prostate cancer risk, either.
Zinc is another prostate supplement that hasn’t stood the test of time.
On a more positive note, men can make some lifestyle choices that may lower their risk of getting prostate cancer. Also, these choices improve the prognosis if you have prostate cancer now or develop it in the future.
First in line is body weight. Men who are obese have a higher risk of getting prostate cancer, especially the more aggressive type. Losing weight can bring that risk way down. Compared with obese men who held their weight steady, men who lost weight enjoyed a 42 percent lower risk of being diagnosed with high-grade prostate cancer.
You didn’t mention lycopene as one of the ingredients, but I suspect that there’s plenty of that in your prostate supplement. Lycopene is an antioxidant and another one of the substances promoted as a prostate cancer fighter. Similar to the story on vitamin E and selenium supplements, lycopene supplements don’t have the proof to support the theory.
The enthusiasm for lycopene arose when researchers discovered that men who eat lots of tomatoes, especially cooked tomatoes, had lower rates of prostate cancer. And tomatoes are rich in lycopene. However, tomatoes also contain a number of other nutrients.
It remains unclear whether lycopene, some other nutrient, or combinations of nutrients underlie the protective effect.
Other foods and nutrients that may decrease the risk of prostate cancer include fish (especially fatty fish); green leafy vegetables; other vegetables and fruits with deep, rich colors; and vitamin D.
Men who eat a lot of fatty foods, especially red meat, and consume large amounts of dairy products have a higher incidence of prostate cancer. The same is true for excessive use of calcium supplements.
Dr. Howard LeWine is a clinical instructor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and a practicing internist with Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates and Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. He serves as chief medical editor of Internet Publishing at Harvard Health Publications. Health information at .
