Eggs after diagnosis may increase risk of prostate cancer death (in USA)

[JimJimJimJim]

Cancer Prev Res (Phila). 2011 Sep 19. [Epub ahead of print]

Egg, red meat, and poultry intake and risk of lethal prostate cancer in the prostate specific antigen-era: incidence and survival.

Richman EL, Kenfield SA, Stampfer MJ, Giovannucci EL, Chan JM.

Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California, San Francisco.

Abstract

Red and processed meat may increase risk of advanced prostate cancer. Data on post-diagnostic diet and prostate cancer are sparse, but post-diagnostic intake of poultry with skin and eggs may increase risk of disease progression. Therefore, we prospectively examined total, unprocessed, and processed red meat, poultry, and eggs in relation to risk of lethal prostate cancer (e.g. men without cancer at baseline who developed distant organ metastases or died from prostate cancer during follow-up) among 27, 607 men followed from 1994-2008. We also performed a case-only survival analysis to examine post-diagnostic consumption of these foods and risk of lethal prostate cancer among the 3,127 men initially diagnosed with non-metastatic prostate cancer during follow-up. In the incidence analysis, we observed 199 events during 306,715 person-years. Men who consumed 2.5 or more eggs per week had an 81% increased risk of lethal prostate cancer compared to men who consumed less than 0.5 eggs per week (HR: 1.81; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.13, 2.89; p-trend: 0.01). In the case-only survival analysis, we observed 123 events during 19,354 person-years.

There were suggestive, but not statistically significant, positive associations between post-diagnostic poultry (HR ≥3.5 vs. <1.5 servings per week: 1.69; 95%CI: 0.96, 2.99; p-trend: 0.07) and post-diagnostic processed red meat (HR ≥3 vs. <0.5 servings per week: 1.45; 95%CI: 0.73, 2.87; p-trend: 0.08) and risk of progression of localized prostate cancer to lethal disease. In conclusion, consumption of eggs may increase risk of developing a lethal-form of prostate cancer among healthy men.

PMID: 21930800

So eating fewer eggs might be a good thing to do, if you live in the USA. at least.

One thing to remember is that this study was of men in the USA, where poultry is fed on corn (maize).

Corn is high in omega 6, which finds it way into the flesh and eggs, particularly yolks.

For men taking lots of fish to decrease omega 6 and raise omega 3, as a way of slowing their cancer, taking corn-based products may be counter-productive.

In Australia, very little corn is fed to poultry, except in the organic area, where the brighter yolks and coloured flesh are a marketing differentiation.

So this USA study may not apply.

This extract can be found on http://PubMed.com, and is in the public domain.

On PubMed.com there will be a link to the full paper (often $30, sometimes free).

Any highlighting (except the title) is not by the author, but by Jim Marshall.

Jim is not a doctor.