Soy beverage protects some patients with dangerous prostate cancer

     Canadian researchers evaluated the benefits of a daily soy beverage in prostate cancer patients who where treated with radiation. The 29 patients were without clinical disease but had a rising PSA level, a bad sign after radical radiation treatment to their prostate. They were instructed to consume 500ml of the soy beverage daily for 6 months.
     If the level of PSA doubles rapidly it reliably predicts a recurrence of prostate cancer and also it can predict how dangerous and deadly it is. In their study 14% of the patients on the soy had a decrease in their PSA level, and 28% had a greater than 100% increase in the rate of PSA doubling time. In 17% of the patients the doubling time actually decreased by 50%. The soy product slowed PSA doubling time by over 100% in about 42% of the patients. The study is published in the February 2010 issue of the journal Cancer and Nutrition.