A natural remedy available over the counter stops the growth of prostate cells and tumors, according to researchers from the University of Chicago School of Medicine. Caffeic acid phenethyl ester (CAPE), a compound isolated from propolis — the resin used by honeybees to seal holes in their hives — shut down early-stage prostate cancer by cutting off the tumor cells' ability to detect sources of nutrition.

Propolis has been used for centuries to ease sore throats, control allergies, fight inflammation, and soothe burns. But the Chicago researchers, who studied the effect of propolis on mice, may have added prostate cancer to the list of ailments the compound fights. Their study was published in Cancer Prevention Research.

"If you feed CAPE to mice daily, their tumors will stop growing," said senior author Dr. Richard B. Jones, assistant professor in the Ben May Department for Cancer Research and Institute for Genomics and Systems Biology. "After several weeks, if you stop the treatment, the tumors will begin to grow again at their original pace. "So it doesn't kill the cancer, but it basically will indefinitely stop prostate cancer proliferation."

"It appears that CAPE basically stops the ability of prostate cancer cells to sense that there's nutrition available," Jones said. "They stop all of the molecular signatures that would suggest that nutrition exists, and the cells no longer have that proliferative response to nutrition."

Other nutrients, including several foods, have also been shown to fight prostate cancer. Foods include:

Nuts: Researchers at Stanford University found that eating just two Brazil nuts each day decreased the odds of developing prostate cancer up to fivefold. Researchers at the University of California found that prostate tumors of mice who were fed the human equivalent of three ounces of walnuts daily were 50 percent smaller and grew 30 percent more slowly than tumors in control mice.

Onions: Chinese researchers found that men who ate the largest amounts of allium vegetables, which include onions, garlic, scallions, and chives, lowered their risk of developing prostate cancer by 50 percent. Those who ate the largest amount of scallions lowered their risk by 70 percent — and only one-tenth of an ounce a day was needed.

Green tea: An Italian study gave men who were at high risk of developing prostate cancer three 200 milligram capsules of green tea daily. After a year, their risk of developing prostate cancer decreased by 90 percent.

Tomatoes: According to the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, men who ate 10 servings of tomato-based foods weekly slashed their risk of prostate cancer by 45 percent. Researchers believe the potent compound in tomatoes is lycopene, a powerful antioxidant that destroys free radicals that are suspected of triggering cancer.

Fish: Researchers at the University of California San Francisco found that men who eat one or two servings of fatty fish each week have a 63 percent lower risk of developing aggressive prostate cancer. In addition, a Harvard study found that men who ate fish more than three times a week cut their chances of developing advanced prostate cancer by 40 percent. The main cancer-fighter appears to be omega-3 oils.

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