Dietary factors and risks for prostate cancer among blacks and whites in the United States

Prostate cancer is the most common malignancy in men in the United States, with substantially higher rates among American blacks than whites. We carri ed out a population-based case-control study in three geographic areas of t he United States to evaluate the reasons for the racial disparity in incide nce rates. A total of 932 men (449 black men and 483 white men) who had bee n newly diagnosed with pathologically confirmed prostate cancer and 1201 co ntrols (543 black men and 658 white men) were interviewed in person to elic it information on potential risk factors. This report evaluates the impact of dietary factors, particularly the consumption of animal products and ani mal fat, on the risk of prostate cancer among blacks and whites in the Unit ed States. Increased consumption (grams/day) of foods high in animal fat was linked to prostate cancer (independent of intake of other calories) among American b lacks [by quartile of intake, odds ratio (OR) = 1.0 (referent), 1.5, 2.1, a nd 2.0; P-trend = 0.007], but not among American whites [by quartile of int ake, OR = 1.0 (referent), 1.6, 1.5, and 1.1; P-trend = 0.90]. However, risk s for advanced prostate cancer were higher with greater intake of foods hig h in animal fat among blacks [by quartile of intake, OR = 1.0 (referent), 2 .2, 4.2, and 3.1; P-trend = 0.006] and whites [by quartile of intake, OR = 1.0 (referent), 2.2, 2.6, and 2.4; P-trend = 0.02]. Increased intake of ani mal fat as it proportion of total caloric intake also showed positive but w eaker associations with advanced prostate cancer among blacks (P-trend = 0. 13) and whites (P-trend = 0.08). No clear associations were found with vita min A, calcium, or specific lycopene-rich foods. The study linked greater consumption of fat from animal sources to increase d risk for prostate cancer among American blacks and to advanced prostate c ancer among American blacks and whites. A reduction of fat from animal sour ces in the diet could lead to decreased incidence and mortality rates for p rostate cancer, particularly among American blacks.