Research conducted at Duke University Medical Center, published in the November 2002 issue of Urology, has shown that a diet enhanced with flaxseed reduced the size and aggressiveness of tumors in mice genetically engineered to develop prostate cancer, and in 3 percent of the animals, prevented the disease entirely. The study, funded in part by the National Cancer Institute, is the third in a series conducted at Duke to demonstrate flaxseed’s benefit in helping to control the disease. The two previous studies demonstrated positive effects for flaxseed in men with prostate cancer and in three prostate cancer cell lines. The current study utilized 135 mice bred to develop cancer of the prostate. The researchers gave one group a regular mouse diet, while the remainder received the same diet with 5 percent consisting of flax seed. One half of each group received the diets for twenty weeks, and the other halves received the diets for thirty weeks. At the end of each period, tumors in the mice who received flaxseed were half the size of those in the control groups, and those tumors were less aggressive, with higher rates of apoptosis. Lead author and research associate in the division of urology at Duke, Xu Lin, MD, summarized, "So far we have observed the suppression of prostate cancer in humans, mice and at the cellular level. It's not a fluke or a coincidence. It's an encouraging line of research." Lin’s colleague, Wendy Demark-Wahnefried stated, "We are cautiously optimistic about these findings. The amount of flaxseed given to each mouse was 5 percent of its total food intake, which would be a very difficult amount for humans to eat, but it does signal that we are on the right track and need to continue research in this area . . . Our results are encouraging. However, before we can truly state that flaxseed is beneficial in humans, larger well-controlled trials are needed. The National Cancer Institute has provided us with the support to conduct a randomized clinical trial in 160 men with prostate cancer that will examine whether a low-fat diet, flaxseed supplementation or a combination of low-fat diet and flaxseed supplementation will be most effective in stopping prostate cancer cells from dividing. That trial is currently under way." Thanks to Life Extension Foundation www.lef.org Remember we are NOT Doctors and have NO medical training. This site is like an Encylopedia - there are many pages, many links on many topics. Support our work with any size DONATION - see left side of any page - for how to donate. You can help raise awareness of CAM.