Predict Prostate Cancer 7 Years Earlier
If you take your health seriously and have been told that you have a normal PSA then I would insist your doctor order the IGF-1 test.
Unfortunately, most men are under the assumption that a PSA of 4 dl/ml gives them a green light of being free of prostate cancer.
It is a fact 15% or over one in six men with a PSA of less than 4 already have prostate cancer.
If your PSA is between 4 and 10 dl/ml, you have a 25% or one in four chance of having prostate cancer.
I find it sad that in the next 24 hours 90 men will die of prostate cancer. Prostate cancer is the second most common cause of cancer death in U.S. men.
As I mentioned before don't settle on the false assumption that you are safe just because your doctor has told you that your PSA is within the normal range.
Studies through Harvard, Johns Hopkins and UCLA have shown that Insulin-Like Growth Factor-1 (IGF-1) is a peptide that controls the action of growth hormones in the body.
If IGF-1 is elevated, men were four times as likely to develop prostate cancer.
And this test is so powerful that when the men developed prostate cancers seven years later, the PSA had just started to turn positive.
So this test, IGF-1, can give you advance warning 7 years earlier than the relied on PSA.
Lycopene is one of the most powerful inhibitors of the IGF-1
So you now may be asking what can you do if your IGF-1 is elevated?
The answer is begin taking the nutritional supplement, lycopene.
Lycopene is one of the most powerful inhibitors of the IGF-1.
This potent nutrient not only effectively controls IGF-1 but has been shown to protect and secure the normal communication between cells which may have been damaged by environmental chemicals like pesticides. When this communication is effected, the cells have the potential to grow out of control leading to an increase risk of cancer.
The good news is lycopene has been found to control this and stop cancer cell growth.
So the take away for today's short message is to request that your doctor order an IGF-1 in the event your PSA comes back normal.
Again don't have the false confidence everything is ok with your prostate just because you have a normal PSA.
References:
Savvani A, Petraki C, Msaouel P, Diamanti E, Xoxakos I, Koutsilieris M.,IGF-IEc Expression Is Associated with Advanced Clinical and Pathological Stage of Prostate Cancer., Anticancer Res. 2013 Jun;33(6):2441-5.
Wolk A, Mantzoros CS, Andersson SO, Bergström R, Signorello LB, Lagiou P, Adami HO, Trichopoulos D., Insulin-like growth factor 1 and prostate cancer risk: a population-based, case-control study. J Natl Cancer Inst. 1998 Jun 17;90(12):911-5.
Woodson K, Tangrea JA, Pollak M, Copeland TD, Taylor PR, Virtamo J, Albanes D. Serum insulin-like growth factor I: tumor marker or etiologic factor? A prospective study of prostate cancer among Finnish men. Cancer Res. 2003 Jul 15;63(14):3991-4.
Walfisch S, Walfisch Y, Kirilov E, Linde N, Mnitentag H, Agbaria R, Sharoni Y, Levy J. Tomato lycopene extract supplementation decreases insulin-like growth factor-I levels in colon cancer patients. Eur J Cancer Prev. 2007 Aug;16(4):298-303.
Levy J, et al, Lycopene is a more potent inhibitor of human cancer cell proliferation that either a-carotene or b-carotene, Nutr Cancer, 24:257-66, 1995
Karas M, Amir H, Fishman D, Danilenko M, Segal S, Nahum A, Koifmann A, Giat Y, Levy J, Sharoni Y. Lycopene interferes with cell cycle progression and insulin-like growth factor I signaling in mammary cancer cells. Nutr Cancer. 2000;36(1):101-11.
Printed with permission. Original article appeared on www.functonalmedicine.com
