***TASK*** the task is to summarize an input biomedical literature in six sentences 
    ***INPUT*** the input is a biomedical literature 
    ***OUTPUT*** the output is the summary of an input biomedical literature in six sentences 
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    Input: We prospect ively investigated the associations between  dietary patterns  and  risk of prostate cancer  in the Health Professionals Follow-up Study . Between 1986 and 2000 , 3,002 incident prostate cancer cases were identified in our cohort . Using factor analysis , two major dietary patterns were identified , a prudent and a western dietary pattern . Dietary patterns were not appreciably associated with risk of total prostate cancer . For the highest versus the lowest quintiles , the multivariable relative risk ( RR ) for the prudent pattern was 0.94 [ 95 % confidence interval ( CI ) , 0.83 - 1.06 ] , and for the western pattern , the multivariable RR was 1.03 ( 95 % CI , 0.92 - 1.17 ) . Neither were these associated with risk of advanced prostate cancer [ highest versus lowest quintile , prudent pattern ( RR , 1.01 ; 95 % CI , 0.68 - 1.49 ) ; western pattern ( RR , 1.13 ; 95 % CI , 0.77 - 1.67 ) ] . Higher western pattern scores were suggestively associated with a greater risk of advanced prostate cancer among older men [ highest versus lowest quintile ( RR , 1.35 ; 95 % CI , 0.97 - 1.90 ) ] , but not after adding processed meat to the model [ highest versus lowest quintile ( RR , 1.11 ; 95 % CI , 0.75 - 1.65 ) ] . We did not find any evidence for a protective association between prudent pattern and risk of prostate cancer . The lack of association between a  western dietary pattern  as identified by factor analysis in our cohort and prostate cancer risk suggests that dietary risk factors for prostate cancer are likely to differ from those for other conditions , such as cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes , that have been associated with a western dietary pattern in this cohort . ( Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2006;15(1):167–71 BACKGROUND Laboratory studies have shown that n-3 fatty acids inhibit and n-6 fatty acids stimulate prostate tumor growth , but whether the dietary intake of these fatty acids affects prostate cancer risk in humans remains unclear . OBJECTIVE We prospect ively evaluated the association between intakes of alpha-linolenic ( ALA ; 18:3n-3 ) , eicosapentaenoic ( EPA ; 20:5n-3 ) , docosahexaenoic ( DHA ; 22:6n-3 ) , linoleic ( LA ; 18:2n-6 ) , and arachidonic ( AA ; 20:4n-6 ) acids and prostate cancer risk . DESIGN A cohort of 47 866 US men aged 40 - 75 y with no cancer history in 1986 was followed for 14 y. RESULTS During follow-up , 2965 new cases of total prostate cancer were ascertained , 448 of which were advanced prostate cancer . ALA intake was unrelated to the risk of total prostate cancer . In contrast , the multivariate relative risks ( RRs ) of advanced prostate cancer from comparisons of extreme quintiles of ALA from nonanimal sources and ALA from meat and dairy sources were 2.02 ( 95 % CI : 1.35 , 3.03 ) and 1.53 ( 0.88 , 2.66 ) , respectively .  EPA and DHA intakes were related to lower prostate cancer risk . The multivariate RRs of total and advanced prostate cancer from comparisons of extreme quintiles of the combination of EPA and DHA were 0.89 ( 0.77 , 1.04 ) and 0.74 ( 0.49 , 1.08 ) , respectively . LA and AA intakes were unrelated to the risk of prostate cancer . The multivariate RR of advanced prostate cancer from a comparison of extreme quintiles of the ratio of LA to ALA was 0.62 ( 0.45 , 0.86 ) . CONCLUSIONS Increased dietary intakes of ALA may increase the risk of advanced prostate cancer . In contrast , EPA and DHA intakes may reduce the risk of total and advanced prostate cancer BACKGROUND Experimental studies in laboratory animals and humans suggest that alpha-linolenic acid ( 18:3n-3 ) may reduce the risk of arrhythmia . OBJECTIVE The objective was to examine the association between dietary intake of alpha-linolenic acid and risk of fatal ischemic heart disease ( IHD ) .  DESIGN This was a prospect i ve cohort study . The intake of alpha-linolenic acid was derived from a 116-item food-frequency question naire completed in 1984 by 76283 women without previously diagnosed cancer or cardiovascular disease . RESULTS During 10 y of follow-up , we documented 232 cases of fatal IHD and 597 cases of nonfatal myocardial infa rct ion . After adjustment for age , st and ard coronary risk factors , and dietary intake of linoleic acid and other nutrients , a higher intake of alpha-linolenic acid was associated with a lower relative risk ( RR ) of fatal IHD ; the RRs from the lowest to highest quintiles were 1.0 , 0.99 , 0.90 , 0.67 , and 0.55 ( 95 % CI : 0.32 , 0.94 ; P for trend = 0.01 ) . For nonfatal myocardial infa rct ion there was only a modest , nonsignificant trend toward a reduced risk when extreme quintiles were compared ( RR : 0.85 ; 95 % CI : 0.61 , 1.19 ; P for trend = 0.50 ) . A higher intake of oil and vinegar salad dressing , an important source of alpha-linolenic acid , was associated with reduced risk of fatal IHD when women who consumed this food > or = 5 - 6 times/wk were compared with those who rarely consumed this food ( RR : 0.46 ; 95 % CI : 0.27 , 0.76 ; P for trend = 0.001 ) . CONCLUSIONS This study supports the hypothesis that a higher intake of alpha-linolenic acid is protective against fatal IHD . Higher consumption of foods such as oil-based salad dressing that provide polyunsaturated fats , including alpha-linolenic acid , may reduce the risk of fatal IHD BACKGROUND The rapid emergence of coronary artery disease ( CAD ) in south Asian people is not explained by conventional risk factors . In view of cardioprotective effects of a Mediterranean style diet rich in alpha-linolenic acid , we assessed the benefits of this diet for patients at high risk of CAD . METHODS We did a r and omised , single-blind trial in 1000 patients with angina pectoris , myocardial infa rct ion , or surrogate risk factors for CAD . 499 patients were allocated to a diet rich in whole grains , fruits , vegetables , walnuts , and almonds . 501 controls consumed a local diet similar to the step I National Cholesterol Education Program ( NCEP ) prudent diet . FINDINGS The intervention group consumed more  fruits , vegetables , legumes , walnuts , and almonds  than did controls ( 573 g [ SD 127 ] vs 231 g [ 19 ] per day p<0.001 ) . The intervention group had an increased intake of whole grains and mustard or soy bean oil . The mean intake of alpha-linolenic acid was two-fold greater in the intervention group ( 1.8 g [ SD 0.4 ] vs 0.8 g [ 0.2 ] per day , p<0.001 ) . Total cardiac end points were significantly fewer in the intervention group than the controls ( 39 vs 76 events , p<0.001 ) . Sudden cardiac deaths were also reduced ( 6 vs 16 , p=0.015 ) , as were non-fatal myocardial infa rct ions ( 21 vs 43 , p<0.001 ) . We noted a significant reduction in serum cholesterol concentration and other risk factors in both groups , but especially in the intervention diet group . In the treatment group , patients with pre-existing CAD had significantly greater benefits compared with such patients in the control group . INTERPRETATION An Indo-Mediterranean diet that is rich in alpha-linolenic acid might be more effective in primary and secondary prevention of CAD than the conventional step I NCEP prudent diet The role of diet in the etiology of prostate cancer remains unclear , because results from several case‐control and cohort studies on fat intake and risk of prostate cancer have been inconsistent ; few of the studies have adjusted the results for caloric intake . To examine the relationship between energy , intake of several nutrients and risk of prostate cancer ( all stages combined and advanced stages separately ) , we conducted a population ‐based case‐control study in Örebro County , Sweden , from 1989 through 1994 . A total of 526 patients with newly diagnosed prostate cancer and 536 controls , r and omly selected from the population register and frequency‐matched by age , were included in the analyses . Information about dietary intake was obtained from a self‐administered semi‐quantitative food frequency question naire . Odds ratios with 95 % confidence intervals were estimated by unconditional logistic regression . In age‐adjusted analyses , there were positive associations of prostate cancer ( all stages combined ) risk with  total energy intake  as well as intake of total fat ( saturated and monounsaturated ) , protein , retinol and zinc . The positive association with energy intake was stronger for advanced cancer , with an excess risk of 70 % for the highest quartile vs. the lowest . After adjustment for energy intake , there was no apparent association of prostate cancers ( all stages combined ) with any of the investigated nutrients . However , a weak positive association between intake of retinol and advanced cancer was observed . We conclude that our results provide some evidence that total energy intake is a risk factor for prostate cancer . © 1996 Wiley‐Liss , Background Alpha-linolenic acid ( ALA ) is the most common omega-3 fatty acid in the Western diet . The relation of dietary intake of ALA to prostate cancer risk remains unresolved . Objective We prospect ively evaluated total ALA and ALA from specific food sources including animal , fish , and plant sources in relation to prostate cancer risk . Design A cohort of 29,592 male participants ( age 55–74 years ) in the screening arm of the Prostate , Lung , Colorectal , and Ovarian ( PLCO ) Cancer Screening Trial was followed for an average of 5.1 years . Results We ascertained 1,898 cases of total prostate cancer , of which 1,631 were organ-confined cases ( stage T1b to T3a and N0M0 ) and 285 were advanced stage cases ( stage≥T3b , N1 , or M1 ) . We found no association between total ALA intake and overall prostate cancer ( multivariate RR comparing extreme quintiles=0.94 ; 95 % CI=0.81–1.09 ; P for trend=0.76 ) . The corresponding RRs for organ-confined and advanced prostate cancer were 0.94 ( 95 % CI=0.80–1.10 ; P for trend=0.80 ) and 0.83 ( 95 % CI=0.58–1.19 ; P for trend=0.34 ) , respectively . In addition , no relations were observed between ALA intake from any specific food source and the risks of total , organ-confined , or advanced prostate cancer . ALA intake also showed no association with low grade ( Gleason sum<7 ; 1,221 cases ) tumors ( P for trend=0.23 ) or high grade ( Gleason sum≥7 ; n=677 cases ) tumors ( P for trend=0.26 ) . Conclusions In this prospect i ve study of predominantly Caucasian men who were screened annually for newly incident prostate cancer , dietary intake of total ALA and ALA from specific food sources was not associated with risk of total prostate cancer or prostate tumors that were defined by stage and grade BACKGROUND Alpha-linolenic acid , an intermediate-chain n-3 fatty acid found primarily in plants , may decrease the risk of fatal coronary heart disease ( CHD ) through a reduction in fatal ventricular arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death ( SCD ) . METHODS AND RESULTS We prospect ively examined the association between dietary intake of alpha-linolenic acid assessed via up date d food-frequency question naires and the risk of SCD , other fatal CHD , and nonfatal myocardial infa rct ion ( MI ) among 76,763 women participating in the Nurses ' Health Study who were free from cancer and completed a dietary question naire at baseline in 1984 . During 18 years of follow-up , we identified 206 SCDs , 641 other CHD deaths , and 1604 nonfatal MIs . After controlling for coronary risk factors and other fatty acids , including long-chain n-3 fatty acids , the intake of alpha-linolenic acid was inversely associated with the risk of SCD ( P for trend , 0.02 ) but not with the risk of other fatal CHD or nonfatal MI . Compared with women in the lowest quintile of alpha-linolenic acid intake , those in the highest 2 quintiles had a 38 % to 40 % lower SCD risk . This inverse relation with SCD risk was linear and remained significant even among women with high intakes 
    Output:
    
This analysis failed to confirm an association between  dietary ALA intake and prostate cancer risk .