Relationship between body mass index and prostate cancer is complex

Reported by Susan Aldridge, PhD, medical journalist

Study shows that obese men are more likely to have prostate screening tests.
In the last few years, there has been increased interest in the relationship between obesity and prostate cancer. Some studies have suggested that men with an elevated body mass index (BMI) are at decreased risk of developing low grade prostate cancer, but at higher risk of developing more aggressive forms of the disease.

A team at Duke University now reveals that one element of this relationship may be due to whether obesity affects the frequency of prostate specific antigen (PSA) screening. They looked at a group of nearly 58,000 men aged 40 or more who had attended for PSA testing. Nearly half reported being overweight and 25 per cent said they were obese. The obese men were more likely than those with a normal BMI to have ever had a PSA test or a test within the last year. Obese men also visited their physician more frequently. Further research is now needed to see what role tumor biology plays in the higher frequency of aggressive prostate cancer in obese men.

Source
UroToday.com 22nd March 2007

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