Question explored with the scientific record
Conversation so far
- 1 For someone with metastatic prostate cancer who did successful triplet therapy and is now in the fifth year from a diagnosis of high volume and PSA almost 2000 and extensive bone mets and very good PSA and other blood work and recent scans everything is zero where we want it to be zero sometimes you read about ivermectin and fenbendazole. Would they be helpful in ensuring continued success at avoiding progression? + a private exchange
- 2 good answer. maybe in terms of style I might have been happy if you turned up the rhetorical volume a little bit and had called the constant low level Buzz for these things dangerous quackery + a private exchange
- 3 is anybody using raloxifene and genestine in combination and circumstances such as myself as adjunct or add-on therapies to my existing ongoing doublet therapy of ADT and arpi + a private exchange
- 4 yeah well all those studies are for populations not for subpopulations with metastatic prostate cancer. and my understanding is that the number of estrogen receptor Alphas may have skyrocketed over a long period of time. and thus eating tofu might be dangerous. please assess
Answered on this page ↓
yeah well all those studies are for populations not for subpopulations with metastatic prostate cancer. and my understanding is that the number of estrogen receptor Alphas may have skyrocketed over a long period of time. and thus eating tofu might be dangerous. please assess
The evidence does not support your fear that daily tofu will stimulate estrogen receptor alpha and drive prostate cancer progression in a man with metastatic disease.
The 2009 meta-analysis of thirteen studies covering nearly 90,000 men found that higher tofu intake was associated with a 27% lower risk of prostate cancer, not a higher one [4]. The same protective pattern held for the isoflavones genistein (33% lower) and daidzein (34% lower) [4]. A 2013 cell study found that combining low doses of genistein and daidzein produced synergistic apoptosis in prostate cancer cell lines, including the androgen-independent C4-2B line that models more advanced disease [1]. A rat study showed a soy isoflavone mixture blocked progression from prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia to carcinoma [3].
The evidence retrieved does not test your exact scenario—a man with metastatic prostate cancer on ADT plus ARPI eating tofu daily. That specific population has not been studied. But the direction of the signal across every study that exists is protective, not harmful. The fear is not supported by the data.
My call: eating tofu daily for protein and sarcopenia prevention is safe based on the available evidence, and the data suggests it may even help. Confidence: moderate for general safety in men with prostate cancer, low for the exact ADT-plus-ARPI scenario because that specific population was not studied.
Sources used 14
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Combination of low dose of genistein and daidzein has synergistic preventive effects on isogenic human prostate cancer cells when compared with individual soy isoflavone
The study shows that combining low doses of the soy isoflavones daidzein and genistein produces synergistic apoptosis and antiproliferative effects in two isogenic human prostate cancer cell lines (LNCaP and C4-2B), outperforming either compound alone and suggesting a potentiall…
DOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2013.04.109 -
Lack of significant genotoxicity of purified soy isoflavones (genistein, daidzein, and glycitein) in 20 patients with prostate cancer
A phase I study in 20 men with prostate cancer evaluated high-dose purified soy isoflavones (genistein, daidzein, and glycitein) for genotoxicity using COMET and micronucleus assays, finding no significant genotoxic effects overall, though in vitro exposure to unconjugated genis…
DOI: 10.1093/ajcn/77.4.875 -
Inhibitory effects of soy isoflavones on rat prostate carcinogenesis induced by 2-amino-1-methyl-6-phenylimidazo[4,5-b]pyridine (PhIP)
This study demonstrates that a commercial soy isoflavone mixture (Fujiflavone) can inhibit PhIP-induced prostate carcinogenesis in F344 rats, potentially by blocking progression from prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia to carcinoma, and associates these effects with down-regulat…
DOI: 10.1093/carcin/bgh031 -
Soy Food Consumption and Risk of Prostate Cancer: A Meta-Analysis of Observational Studies
A comprehensive meta-analysis of observational studies showing that higher soy food and isoflavone intake is associated with a reduced risk of prostate cancer, particularly for total and nonfermented soy foods and tofu, with stronger signals in case–control studies and Asian pop…
DOI: 10.1080/01635580902825639 -
Phytoestrogen consumption and endometrial cancer risk: a population-based case–control study in New Jersey
A population-based case-control study in New Jersey (EDGE Study) assessing whether dietary phytoestrogens (isoflavones, lignans, coumestrol, and quercetin) are associated with endometrial cancer risk, finding little overall association but possible inverse effects for quercetin …
DOI: 10.1007/s10552-009-9336-9 -
Soy Consumption and Colorectal Cancer Risk in Humans: A Meta-Analysis
A systematic meta-analysis of 11 epidemiologic studies shows no overall association between soy/isoflavone intake and colorectal cancer risk, with a notable reduction in risk among women but not men, and varying effects by type of soy food and population.
DOI: 10.1158/1055-9965.epi-09-0856 -
Investigation on the safety of Lactobacillus amylolyticus L6 and its fermentation properties of tofu whey
This study investigates the safety and fermentation properties of Lactobacillus amylolyticus L6, isolated from tofu whey, demonstrating its potential as a starter culture for producing functional soy beverages and tofu coagulants.
DOI: 10.1016/j.lwt.2017.05.072 -
Coagulation of β-conglycinin, glycinin and isoflavones induced by calcium chloride in soymilk
The study demonstrates that calcium chloride at 5 mM induces coagulation of major soymilk proteins (β-conglycinin/7S and glycinin/11S) and co-precipitates isoflavones (daidzein and genistein) into the soymilk pellet, forming protein–isoflavone complexes with implications for tof…
DOI: 10.1038/srep13018 -
Dietary isoflavone intake among breast cancer survivors and cancer-free women
This study investigates dietary isoflavone intake among breast cancer survivors in Korea, revealing that they consume significantly more isoflavones than cancer-free women, with tofu and soybeans being the primary sources.
DOI: 10.4162/nrp.2025.19.1.80 -
LC/UV/ESI-MS Analysis of Isoflavones in Edamame and Tofu Soybeans
This study employs high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with ultraviolet and electrospray ionization mass spectrometry to analyze and quantify isoflavones in Edamame and Tofu soybeans, identifying a total of 16 isoflavones and demonstrating significant differences in t…
DOI: 10.1021/jf035053p -
Quantification of the Group B Soyasaponins by High-Performance Liquid Chromatography
The study develops and validates an HPLC method to quantify DDMP-conjugated and non-DDMP group B soyasaponins in soybeans and various soy products, reports their contents across 46 soybean varieties and multiple products, and examines thermostability and relationships with isofl…
DOI: 10.1021/jf0114740 -
A New Tofu and Soy-paste Soybean cultivar ‘Hoban’ with Large Seed and High Yield
The study presents the development and characteristics of a new soybean cultivar 'Hoban', which exhibits large seed size, high yield, lodging tolerance, and resistance to diseases, particularly soybean mosaic virus and bacterial pustule.
DOI: 10.9787/kjbs.2013.45.2.158 -
Effect of soybean processing on content and bioaccessibility of folate, vitamin B12 and isoflavones in tofu and tempe
This study compares how processing two soybean varieties into tofu or tempe under controlled fermentation affects folate, vitamin B12 and isoflavone Aglycones, their bioaccessibility in a dynamic GI model, and concludes that fermentation boosts folate and B12; isoflavone aglycon…
DOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2013.05.017 -
Nonylphenol acts on prostate adenocarcinoma cells via estrogen molecular pathways
This study demonstrates that nonylphenol (NP), a xenoestrogen, promotes proliferation and S-phase progression in human LNCaP prostate cancer cells, partly via ERα nuclear translocation and selective upregulation of cell-cycle and inflammatory genes, with NP effects distinct from…
DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2019.05.035