Men's Eating and Living (MEAL) study (CALGB 70807 [Alliance]): recruitment feasibility and baseline demographics of a randomized trial of diet in men on active surveillance for prostate cancer.

objectiveTo assess the feasibility of performing national, randomized trials of dietary interventions for localized prostate cancer.

methodsThe Men's Eating and Living (MEAL) study (CALGB 70807 [Alliance]) is a phase III clinical trial testing the efficacy of a high-vegetable diet to prevent progression in patients with prostate cancer on active surveillance (AS). Participants were randomized to a validated diet counselling intervention or to a control condition. Chi-squared and Kruskal-Wallis analyses were used to assess between-group differences at baseline.

resultsBetween 2011 and 2015, 478 (103%) of a targeted 464 patients were randomized at 91 study sites. At baseline, the mean (sd) age was 64 (6) years and mean (sd) PSA concentration was 4.9 (2.1) ng/mL. Fifty-six (12%) participants were African-American, 17 (4%) were Hispanic/Latino, and 16 (3%) were Asian-American. There were no significant between-group differences for age (P = 0.98), race/ethnicity (P = 0.52), geographic region (P = 0.60), time since prostate cancer diagnosis (P = 0.85), PSA concentration (P = 0.96), clinical stage (T1c or T2a; P = 0.27), or Gleason sum (Gleason 6 or 3+4 = 7; P = 0.76). In a pre-planned analysis, the baseline prostate biopsy samples of the first 50 participants underwent central pathology review to confirm eligibility, with an expectation that <10% would become ineligible. One of 50 participants (2%) became ineligible.

conclusionThe MEAL study shows the feasibility of implementing national, multi-institutional phase III clinical trials of diet for prostate cancer and of testing interventions to prevent disease progression in AS.