New perspectives on prostate cancer: the identification of dietary and microbial metabolites could be key in prevention

  • This large-scale nutrimetabolomic analysis, one of the most extensive to date, underscores the relevance of dietary factors and the gut microbiome in prostate cancer risk. 
  • The study has been led by the Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL), the University of Barcelona and the CIBER area on Frailty and Healthy Ageing (CIBERFES). 
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Prostate cancer is the second most common neoplasm among men worldwide. According to data from GLOBOCAN, 1,414,000 new cases and 375,304 deaths related to this disease were reported in 2020. Although its incidence is high, prostate cancer is characterized by considerable clinical, morphological, and molecular heterogeneity. Among the known risk factors, non-modifiable ones such as age, ethnicity and family history play a fundamental role. However, modifiable factors, such as physical activity and metabolic syndrome, have also been identified as possible intermediates, particularly the connection between coronary heart disease and prostate cancer. However, the impact of diet, obesity and smoking remains unclear. 

A team of researchers, led by the Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL), the University of Barcelona and the CIBER area for Frailty and Healthy Ageing (CIBERFES), in collaboration with leading national and international institutions such as the Centre for Innovation in Metabolomics (TMIC Wishart Node), CiberESP and the German Cancer Research Centre (DKFZ), among others, has identified, through metabolomic analyses, potential biomarkers related to the risk of developing prostate cancer. 

The study, entitled “Prediagnostic Plasma Nutrimetabolomics and Prostate Cancer Risk: A Nested Case–Control Analysis Within the EPIC Study” and recently published in the journal Cancers, has been led by Dr. Raúl Zamora-Ros, head of the nutrition and cancer group at IDIBELL and ICO, and was carried out within the framework of the EPIC (European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition) project). Its objective was to explore the prospective association between plasma metabolites, both endogenous and exogenous, and the risk of developing prostate cancer, including its different clinical subtypes. 

Targeted metabolomics as an emerging tool in prevention 

In this context, targeted metabolomics is positioned as an innovative tool capable of quantifying and characterizing low molecular weight compounds in body fluids, offering a promising avenue for the identification of new risk biomarkers. It also clarifies the role of internal factors, such as the genome, and external factors, such as diet, lifestyle, environment and gut microbiota, in the development and progression of prostate cancer. 

The findings of the study highlight the possible involvement of metabolites of endogenous, dietary and microbial origin in prostate carcinogenesis. Although associations were identified between 31 metabolites and prostate cancer risk in various clinical subtypes, these relationships did not reach significance after rigorous statistical corrections, so their validation will be necessary in future research. 

The key dietary intervention for prevention  

This large-scale nutrimetabolomic analysis, one of the most extensive to date, underscores the relevance of dietary factors and the gut microbiome in prostate cancer risk. Metabolites related to plant-based foods and microbial metabolism products could act as nutritional biomarkers. In detail, a negative relationship was identified with biomarkers associated with plant-based foods, while cyclamate, a common artificial sweetener, showed a positive relationship.  

The results also indicate a possible role of the gut microbiota in the development of prostate cancer, although further study is needed to fully understand this link. However, the findings suggest that intervening in the gut microbiome through the use of prebiotics or probiotics could help prevent or delay the onset of this disease. 

The future of preventive medicine 

If these results are confirmed, they could lay the groundwork for the development of tools such as risk calculators or nomograms that allow more accurate identification of men with greater susceptibility, offering new opportunities in the prevention and early detection of prostate cancer. This advance would be a significant step towards the implementation of precision medicine strategies, tailored to the individual characteristics of each patient. 

This research has been funded, among others, by La Marató de 3Cat (project numbers 201943-30 and 201943-31); the Carlos III Health Institute through the CIBERFES project, CB16/10/00269, and the PID2020-114921RB-C21 grant, financed by the MCIN/AEI, all of them co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), a way of making Europe. It has also had the support of the AGAUR Agency of the Generalitat de Catalunya (2021SGR00687), Icrea Academia and the María de Maeztu Unit of Excellence scholarship (CEX2021-001234-M), funded by the MICIN/AEI/ERDF, EU. 

 

 

The Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL) is a biomedical research centre created in 2004. It is participated by the Bellvitge University Hospital and the Viladecans Hospital of the Catalan Institute of Health, the Catalan Institute of Oncology, the University of Barcelona and the City Council of Hospitalet de Llobregat.

IDIBELL is a member of the Campus of International Excellence of the University of Barcelona HUBc and is part of the CERCA institution of the Generalitat de Catalunya. In 2009 it became one of the first five Spanish centres accredited as a health research institute by the Carlos III Health Institute. In addition, it is part of the “HR Excellence in Research” program of the European Union and is a member of EATRIS and REGIC. Since 2018, IDIBELL has been an Accredited Centre of the AECC Scientific Foundation (FCAECC).

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