MILAN, Italy--New research published in the March 20 edition of the International Journal of Cancer (109, 2:278-280, 2004) shows vegetable fiber may lower the incidence of prostate cancer. Researchers noted this is the first study to look into fiber’s role in prostate cancer.

In an 11-year multicenter case-control study, researchers investigated 1,294 men with incident, histologically confirmed prostate cancer and 1,451 controls with acute nonmalignant conditions. They found the risk for prostate cancer was inversely related with soluble fiber, cellulose and vegetable fiber, with vegetable fiber seen as the most protective--men who consumed the highest amount of vegetables were 18-percent less likely to develop prostate cancer than those who ate the least amount of vegetables. These relationships were consistent across all ages, family histories of prostate cancer, body mass indexes and education.

According to a Reuters write-up, study researchers reported that because vegetables were seen to provide the most benefits of all the fibers investigated, it may be possible that some of their other nutrients could be the reason behind their prostate benefits.