Poor Adherence to International Cancer Prevention Recommendations Among Patients With Prostate Cancer: First Results From the MARTINI-Lifestyle Cohort

BACKGROUND: Promotion of a healthy lifestyle in patients with prostate cancer (PCa) has gained traction to increase patient investment in his/her health care practices, improve patient quality of life, and improve survival outcomes.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate adherence of patients with PCa to healthy lifestyle recommendations from the World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) and the American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR).

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: A total of 2227 men with PCa scheduled for radical prostatectomy in the Martini-Klinik at the University Hospital Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany between January 2016 and December 2017.

OUTCOME MEASUREMENTS AND STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: Age and clinical characteristics were collected at the time of the diagnosis. Assessment of diet and physical activity data were obtained via e-mail surveys using validated questionnaires developed for the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study [food frequency questionnaire, version 2 (FFQ2), EPIC-Physical Activity Questionnaire (EPIC-PAQ)]. Baseline characteristics were calculated as means and standard deviations for continuous data or counts and percentages for categorical data.

RESULTS AND LIMITATIONS: Patients followed 3.3 (±1.5) of the 10 WCRF/AICR recommendations. None of the participants reached all goals; 67.3% of the patients did not fulfill the criteria of a healthy normal weight, 33.5% reported no exercise at all, and 49.6% were characterized as current or ex-smokers. As to nutritional goals, 75.4% did not meet the recommended intake of meat, 88.8% reported a low consumption of fruit and vegetables, and 86% did not achieve the recommended fiber intake. Because these analyses are based on self-reported data of diet and lifestyle, a bias toward underreporting cannot be excluded.

CONCLUSIONS: First results of the MARTINI-Lifestyle cohort show that adherence to the AICR/WCRF recommendations for cancer prevention is poor.

PATIENT SUMMARY: Patients with prostate cancer scheduled for surgery do not adhere to cancer prevention guidelines. Thus, improving lifestyle habits may provide significant impact on patient health and quality of life.