NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Diets high in saturated fat may increase the risk of prostate cancer progression, researchers from the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston report.

In a follow up study of men who had their cancerous prostates removed, researchers found that men who consumed higher amounts of saturated fat – mostly from steaks, burgers, cheese, ice cream, salad dressings, and mayonnaise – were nearly two times more likely to experience disease progression after surgery than men with lower saturated fat intake.

"Diet before surgery, especially saturated fat, may modulate patient outcome after surgery," Dr. Sara S. Strom, who was involved in the study, said. Strom and colleagues also found significantly shorter "disease-free" survival times among obese men who ate high amounts of saturated fat compared with non-obese men consuming diets low in saturated fat.

These results expand upon the team's previous finding linking obesity with prostate cancer progression "and suggest that saturated fat intake plays a role in prostate cancer progression," the researchers note in the International Journal of Cancer.

Strom's group used standard food questionnaires to assess the saturated fat intake of 390 men during the year before surgery for localised, or "organ-confined" prostate cancer. The researchers also assessed the men's medical and family history for other risk factors for disease progression.