By David Liu, PHD

Sunday Aug 19, 2012 (foodconsumer.org) -- A new study in Cancer Prevention Research suggests that eating eggs, chicken and red meat may increase risk of developing advanced prostate cancer in healthy men and lower survival odds for those who have had been diagnosed with a nonmetastatic prostate cancer.

The study led by E.L. Eichman of Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts and colleagues found initially healthy men who ate 2.5 or more eggs per weeks were 81 percent more likely to develop lethal prostate cancer during the study follow-up than those who ate only less than half an egg per week.

The researchers followed 27,607 men who initially did not have cancer from 1994 through 2008 to examine the association between consumption of total, unprocessed, processed red meat, poultry and eggs and the risk of lethal or advanced prostate cancer.  They also followed 3,127 men who were initially diagnosed with nonmetastatic prostate cancer to see how eating these animal-based foods affects their survival odds.

In addition to the link between egg consumption and risk of lethal prostate cancer in those who were initially healthy, the researchers also found those initially idagnosed with non-lethal prostate cancer who ate 3.5 or more servings of poultry per week were 69 percent more likely to develop lethal prostate cancer or to die, compared to those with nonmetastatic prostate cancer who ate less than 1.5 serving per week. 

Similarly, those with non-lethal prostate cancer diagnosed initially who ate 3 or more servings of red meat per week were 45 percent more likely to develop lethal prostate cancer, compared to those who ate less than 0.5 serving per week.

The study suggests that eggs have a greater impact on the development of advanced prostate cancer than poultry and red meat.  The researchers concluded that consumption eggs may increase risk of developing lethal prostate cancer among healthy men.