Phytoestrogen tissue levels in benign prostatic hyperplasia and prostate cancer and their association with prostatic diseases

Objectives. To compare phytoestrogen tissue levels in men with small-volume benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), large-volume BPH, and prostate cancer (PCa). Prostatic tissue samples of men consuming a Western diet who underwent surgery for BPH (n = 63) or PCa (n = 31) were collected and frozen at −40°C. In the tissue samples, the enterolactone and genistein levels were determined in duplicate by monoclonal antibody-based immunoassays. We subsequently compared the tissue levels in patients with BPH and PCa and studied the impact of enterolactone and genistein on prostate volume. The enterolactone tissue levels were comparable in patients with BPH and PCa and revealed no correlation to prostate volume. The genistein tissue levels tended to be lower in patients with PCa (median 8.4 ng/g dry weight) compared with the entire BPH group (11.0 ng/g dry weight; P = 0.072). In addition, the genistein tissue levels were significantly greater in men with small-volume BPH (median 20.9 ng/g dry weight) compared with those with large-volume BPH (8.8 ng/g dry weight; P = 0.023). Our data suggest an involvement of genistein in the pathogenesis of BPH and, possibly, of PCa. The impact of enterolactone is currently unknown.