Study: Pomegranate keeps PSA down LOS ANGELES, July 3 , 2006 (UPI) -- Drinking a glass of pomegranate juice daily may help men already treated for prostate cancer to prevent or delay other therapies, U.S. researchers find. A three-year study at the University of California at Los Angeles involved 50 men who had undergone surgery or radiation for prostate cancer and who experienced increases in prostate-specific antigen or PSA, a biomarker that indicates the presence of cancer.

The "doubling time," or how long it takes for PSA levels to double, is a signal that the cancer is progressing, according to lead author Dr. Allan Pantuck, an associate professor of urology at UCLA. The average doubling time is about 15 months. Pantuck observed increases in doubling times from 15 months to 54 months, an almost four-fold increase, in those who drank the pomegranate juice. "That's a big increase. I was surprised when I saw such an improvement in PSA numbers," Pantuck said. "In older men 65 to 70 who have been treated for prostate cancer, we can give them pomegranate juice and it may be possible for them to outlive their risk of dying from their cancer." The findings are published in Clinical Cancer Research. The University of Wisconsin showed last year in a study of pomegranate juice on mice to dramatically reduce the rate of prostate cancer occurrance. The new three-year study conducted by the University of California at Los Angeles covered 50 men who were diagnosed with prostate cancer who had undergone surgery or radiotherapy. The UC findings were that all of the study candidates showed a post-treatment increase in blood levels of PSA (prostate-specific antigen). Increased PSA indicates that cancer is still present in the body. Prostate cancer patients who have short doubling times are more likely to die from their illness. The average doubling time for the disease is about 15 months. But drinking pomegranate juice extended this period to 54 months - an almost four-fold increase. "I was surprised when I saw such an improvement in PSA numbers," said Dr Allan Pantuck, who led the study. "In older men 65 to 70 who have been treated for prostate cancer, we can give them pomegranate juice and it may be possible for them to outlive their risk of dying from their cancer. "We're hoping we may be able to prevent or delay the need for other therapies usually used in this population such as hormone treatment or chemotherapy, both of which bring with them harmful side effects. "This is not a cure, but we may be able to change the way prostate cancer grows."