The role of diet and dietary supplements in the development and progression of prostate cancer represents an increasingly frequent topic of discussion in the urologist's office. As access to information becomes forever easier, patients are more aware and educated about this subject than ever before. The role of antioxidants including carotenoids in all this has been the subject of great interest for some time. Lycopene, the carotenoid that gives tomatoes and other fruits and vegetables their red colour, has been of particular interest recently as regards its role in prostate cancer. The aim of this review is to briefly outline the biology and chemistry of lycopene, the scientific basis for its proposed anticancer properties and evaluate what conclusions the practicing urologist may draw from the data thus far. The media and industry have raced to encourage not only diets high in lycopene but also dietary lycopene supplements but there is probably only sufficient evidence to recommend to patients a diet rich in all vegetables and fruits of which tomatoes and tomato based products should certainly be a part.

Protein-energy malnutrition is a prevalent problem in older persons. Its relation to increased morbidity and mortality has been well documented. Early recognition of malnutrition allows for a timely intervention. A large proportion of chronic diseases affecting older persons can be either prevented or significantly improved by improving nutrition, which underscores the importance of developing a screening system that can trigger a more comprehensive evaluation when indicated. Screening for malnutrition in older persons can be difficult because of the normal age-related changes in many of the commonly used parameters. A comprehensive nutritional evaluation includes a complete history and physical examination in addition to a more specific nutrition-oriented assessment. Specific nutritional assessment includes estimating food intake, anthropometric measurements, and evaluation of several biochemical parameters commonly affected by changes in nutritional status. In this article, we review the commonly used tools for nutritional assessment in older persons. The goal is to promote disease-free, active, and successful aging.

A case-control study of oral cancer was conducted in Beijing, People's Republic of China to examine the association between dietary nutrient intake and risk of oral cancer, both in terms of estimated intake of nutrients and micro-nutrients, and in terms of specific foods and food groups. The study was hospital-based and controls were hospital in-patients matched for age and sex with the cases. The response rate for cases and controls was 100% and 404 case/control pairs were interviewed. The results suggest that increased protein and fat intake are related to a decreased risk of oral cancer. Carbohydrate intake, however, showed a moderate increased risk for oral cancer. Total carotene intake and carotene intake from fruits and vegetables are inversely associated with risk of oral cancer. A similar pattern was observed for dietary vitamin C intake. Dietary fibre derived from fruits and vegetables showed a strong negative association with oral cancer risk, but fibre derived from other sources did not exhibit any protective effect. At the level of foods and food groups, increased consumption of fresh meat, chicken and liver was significantly associated with a reduction in oral cancer risk: the tests for trend were all statistically significant at the P < 0.01 level. Consumption of common carp, hairtail, shrimp and lobster were also associated with decreased risk. Risk was found to increase with increasing consumption of millet and corn bread (P < 0.01) but to decrease with increasing consumption of rice (P < 0.01). Increased consumption of grapes, bananas, oranges, tangerines, peaches and pears were associated with reduced risk.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)