Swapping animal fats with plant fats may lower risk of death after prostate cancer

• A new study examined how dietary fat intake may affect health outcomes and longevity after a nonmetastatic prostate cancer diagnosis.
• The researchers linked higher saturated fat consumption from animal derived sources such as red meat, butter, and full-fat dairy to a greater risk of death from any cause.
• They also linked replacing animal fats with plant-based fats such as olive oil and nuts to a lower mortality risk.

With 5-year relative survival rates exceeding 99% for localized and regional prostate cancer, survivorship care must also address cardiovascular disease and cancers other than prostate cancer.

Researchers at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health examined the relationship between dietary fat intake after a nonmetastatic prostate cancer diagnosis and the risk of death from different causes.

The researchers found that replacing animal and saturated fats with plant-based and unsaturated fats was associated with a significantly lower risk of overall death, which was driven mainly by reduced cardiovascular and non-prostate cancer mortality.

Conversely, men with the highest saturated fat consumption from animal sources such as red meat, butter, and full-fat dairy had a 24% higher overall death rate compared to those with the lowest intake.

The study is published in JAMA Network Open.