Urology. 2001 Apr;57(4 Suppl 1):31-8.

Similarities of prostate and breast cancer: Evolution, diet, and
estrogens.

Coffey DS.
James Buchanan Brady Urological Institute, The Johns Hopkins Hospital,
Baltimore, Maryland 21287-2101, USA.

Environment determines the risk of both prostate and breast cancer,
and this risk can vary >10-fold. In contrast, no risk exists for human
seminal vesicle cancer demonstrating tissue specificity. There is also
species specificity, because there is no risk for prostate cancer in
any other aging mammal except the dog. A study of evolution indicates
that the prostate and breast appeared at the same time 65 million
years ago with the development of mammals. All male mammals have a
prostate; however, the seminal vesicles are variable and are
determined by the diet so that species primarily eating meat do not
have seminal vesicles. The exception is the human, who has seminal
vesicles and consumes meat, although this is a recent dietary change.
Human lineage departed from other higher primates 8 million years ago.
The closest existing primate to humans is the bonobo (pigmy
chimpanzee), which does not eat meat but exists primarily on a high
fruit and fresh vegetable diet. Homo sapiens evolved only about
150,000 years ago, and only in the last 10% of that time (10 to 15
thousand years ago) did humans and dogs dramatically alter their
diets. This is the time when humans domesticated the dog, bred
animals, grew crops, and cooked, processed, and stored meats and
vegetables. All current epidemiologic evidence and suggestions for
preventing prostate and breast cancer in humans indicates that we
should return to the original diets under which our ancestors evolved.
The recent development of the Western-type diet is associated with
breast and prostate cancer throughout the world. It is believed that
the exposure to and metabolism of estrogens, and the dietary intake of
phytoestrogens, combined with fat intake, obesity, and burned food
processing may all be related to hormonal carcinogenesis and oxidative
DNA damage. An explanatory model is proposed.
PMID: 11295592