NUTRITION and lifestyle interventions are promising for improving weight control, symptoms, metabolic profiles, and quality of life for patients with prostate cancer undergoing radiotherapy, a 2026 systematic review has found.
Radiotherapy for Prostate Cancer
Around 30% of men with prostate cancer receive radiotherapy as their main treatment. It often leads to gastrointestinal toxicity, weight gain, fatigue, and reduced quality of life, researchers reported.
In cancer care, nutritional and lifestyle interventions are increasingly implemented as an effective management technique.
For example, previous research has shown that combining a low-saturated fat, plant-based, whole-food diet with exercise and stress reduction produces a clinically significant benefit for patients with prostate cancer.
Although, evidence in the population of patients with prostate cancer undergoing radiotherapy has been limited.
Effect of Nutritional and Lifestyle Interventions
The review analysed 19 studies. In radiotherapy-specific trials, personalised nutrition interventions showed potential to mitigate weight gain and address gastrointestinal symptoms.
Further, restrictive modifications to diet helped ease bowel symptoms. However, they were also tied to lower levels of energy intake and nutritional status.
Diets supplemented with tomato juice increased lycopene levels, although did not exhibit reliable clinical advantages.
Overall, across mixed-modality cohorts, dietary modifications were linked to weight loss and positive changes in triglycerides, HDL, and HbA1c.
Researchers reported that comprehensive lifestyle programmes were favourable for psychological distress, urinary symptoms, and quality of life.
Implications for Prostate Cancer Care
Authors highlighted the evident advantages of nutritional and lifestyle interventions in the relevant context.
However, they also called for more robust, radiotherapy-specific randomised trials with clear, standardised endpoints to further assess the effectiveness of the interventions.
References
Han Y et al. Nutritional and lifestyle interventions for prostate cancer patients undergoing radiotherapy: a systematic review. Nutr Cancer. 2026;DOI:10.1080/01635581.2026.2637661.
Zuniga KB et al. Diet and lifestyle considerations for patients with prostate cancer. Urol Oncol. 2019;38(3):105–177.
The Institute of Cancer Research. Our research impact: prostate cancer radiotherapy. 2022. Available at: Our research impact: prostate cancer radiotherapy. Last accessed: 7 April 2026.
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