[Quote: "it may be possible for them to outlive their risk of
dying from their cancer". With a PSA doubling time increased from
15 to 54 months with 8 ounces (237 ml) of POM pomegranate juice/day,
Alan Pantuck (below) might be forgiven for being this optimistic. However
since pomegranate also strongly inhibits atherosclerosis (see below),
prostate cancer may still remain a lifespan limiting factor, if
cardiovascular disease is delayed long enough. With several proven
longevity promoting actions, pomegranate is possibly the single most
desirable food for any life extensionist. Doctors have touted the health
benefits of fruits and vegetables for years. However not all fruits and
vegetables are equal in this regard, and in particular, thus far, no other
fruit or vegetable has been proven in human intervention trials to be as
promising as pomegranate.]

Pomegranate Juice Helps Keep PSA Levels Stable In Men With Prostate
Cancer

Drinking an eight ounce glass of pomegranate juice daily increased
by nearly four times the period during which PSA levels in men
treated for prostate cancer remained stable, a three-year UCLA study
has found.

The study involved 50 men who had undergone surgery or radiation but
quickly experienced increases in prostate-specific antigen or PSA,
a biomarker that indicates the presence of cancer. UCLA researchers
measured "doubling time," how long it takes for PSA levels to double,
a signal that the cancer is progressing, said Dr. Allan Pantuck, an
associate professor of urology, a Jonsson Cancer Center researcher
and lead author of the study.

Doubling time is crucial in prostate cancer, Pantuck said, because
patients who have short doubling times are more likely to die from
their cancer. The average doubling time is about 15 months. In the
UCLA study, Pantuck and his team observed increases in doubling
times from 15 months to 54 months, an almost four-fold increase.

"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. 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."

The study appears in the July 1 issue of Clinical Cancer Research,
the peer-reviewed journal of the American Association of Cancer
Research.

"This is not a cure, but we may be able to change the way prostate
cancer grows," Pantuck said. "We don't know yet the specific factors
behind this response - that's our next step in this research. We
want to find out what cell signaling pathways might be affected,
what is happening to keep PSA levels stable."

Pomegranate juice is known to have anti-inflammatory effects and
high levels of anti-oxidants, which are believed to protect the body
from free-radical damage. It also contains poly-phenols, natural
antioxidant compounds found in green tea, as well as isoflavones
commonly found in soy, and ellagic acid, which is believed to play
a role in cancer cell death.

"There are many substances in pomegranate juice that may be
prompting this response," Pantuck said. "We don't know if it's
one magic bullet or the combination of everything we know is in
this juice. My guess is that it's probably a combination of
elements, rather than a single component."

The levels of PSA in men immediately following treatement should
be undetectable, Pantuck said. If PSA can be detected, it's an
indication of an aggressive cancer that is likely to progress.
The men in Pantuck's study all had detectable PSA following
treatment. Of the 50 men enrolled, more than 80 percent
experienced improvement in doubling times.

Conventional treatment for men with recurrent prostate cancer
includes hormonal therapy, a chemical castration which removes
testosterone from the system. Men treated with hormonal therapy
can experience hot flashes, osteoporosis, fatigue, depression,
muscle wasting, loss of libido and erectile dysfunction. If
drinking pomegranate juice can delay or prevent the need for
hormonal therapy, patients would experience a better quality of
life for a longer time, Pantuck said.

The patients in Pantuck's study experienced no side effects and
none of the participants had cancers that metastasized during
the study.

Pantuck, along with UCLA colleagues including Dr. Arie Belldegrun,
professor and chief of urologic oncology, and Dr. David Heber,
professor and director of the Center for Human Nutrition, first
began research on pomegranate juice in prostate cancer about six
years ago, conducting preclinical research in cell cultures and
in animals. Those studies showed pomegranate juice slowed the
growth of prostate cancer, Pantuck said.

The data was impressive enough to test pomegranate juice in
clinical trials, Pantuck said. To confirm their findings, a
larger Phase III study, headed up by UCLA, will be conducted at
ten centers across the county. UCLA is the only Southern
California center involved in the study. For more information on
the Phase III trial, call (310) 825-5538.

Pantuck said he has men on the study more than three years out who
are not being treated for prostate cancer other than drinking
pomegranate juice and their PSA levels continue to be suppressed.

"The juice seems to be working," he said.

The study, performed at the Clark Urology Center, was funded by
the Stewart and Lynda Resnick Trust. The Resnicks own POM
Wonderful, which provided the juice from the Wonderful variety of
pomegranate for the study.

Clinical Cancer Research Jul 1, 2006; 12 (13)
Phase II Study of Pomegranate Juice for Men with Rising PSA
following Surgery or Radiation for Prostate Cancer

[Below, 50 ml of a homemade pomegranate juice was used.]

Clin Nutr. 2004 Jun;23(3):423-33.
Pomegranate juice consumption for 3 years by patients with carotid
artery stenosis reduces common carotid intima-media thickness,
blood pressure and LDL oxidation.
 Dietary supplementation with polyphenolic antioxidants to animals
was shown to be associated with inhibition of LDL oxidation and
macrophage foam cell formation, and attenuation of atherosclerosis
development. We investigated the effects of pomegranate juice (PJ,
which contains potent tannins and anthocyanins) consumption by
atherosclerotic patients with carotid artery stenosis (CAS) on the
progression of carotid lesions and changes in oxidative stress and
blood pressure. Ten patients were supplemented with PJ for 1 year
and five of them continued for up to 3 years. Blood samples were
collected before treatment and during PJ consumption. In the
control group that did not consume PJ, common carotid intima-media
thickness (IMT) increased by 9% during 1 year, whereas, PJ
consumption resulted in a significant IMT reduction, by up to 30%,
after 1 year. The patients' serum paraoxonase 1 (PON 1) activity
was increased by 83%, whereas serum LDL basal oxidative state and
LDL susceptibility to copper ion-induced oxidation were both
significantly reduced, by 90% and 59%, respectively, after 12
months of PJ consumption, compared to values obtained before PJ
consumption. Furthermore, serum levels of antibodies against
oxidized LDL were decreased by 19%, and in parallel serum total
antioxidant status (TAS) was increased by 130% after 1 year of PJ
consumption. Systolic blood pressure was reduced after 1 year of
PJ consumption by 21% and was not further reduced along 3 years of
PJ consumption. For all studied parameters, the maximal effects
were observed after 1 year of PJ consumption. Further consumption
of PJ, for up to 3 years, had no additional beneficial effects on
IMT and serum PON1 activity, whereas serum lipid peroxidation was
further reduced by up to 16% after 3 years of PJ consumption. The
results of the present study thus suggest that PJ consumption by
patients with CAS decreases carotid IMT and systolic blood
pressure and these effects could be related to the potent
antioxidant characteristics of PJ polyphenols.