Being overweight or obese increases a man’s risk of prostate cancer by as much as 57% says a new Columbia University study.
The researchers reviewed biopsies of over 6,600 cancer-free men of whom 11% had precancerous lesions.
After 14 years of follow-up and taking other risk factors into account, the association between increased weight and prostate cancer held for all cases—low grade and high-grade, early stage and late, nonaggressive and aggressive prostate cancer.
"We don't absolutely know what the true biology is," said study author Andrew Rundle. "In some ways, this reflects the association between the body size and larger prostate size, which is thought to reduce the sensitivity of the needle biopsy. It is possible that the tumors missed by initial biopsy grew and were detected in a follow-up biopsy."
Rundle added that this study suggests that obesity should be considered a risk factor for more intensive follow-up after a benign prostate biopsy.
Cancer Metastasis
Obesity also appears to play a role in cancer metastasis as a previous study found that overweight men were three times more likely to have their cancer spread than normal weight men. For obese men the risk of metastasis was five times higher.
Health Burden
This study adds to a long list of cancers and other health problems linked to obesity, including:
- cancers of the esophagus, breast (postmenopausal), endometrium (the lining of the uterus), colon and rectum, kidney, pancreas, thyroid, gallbladder and possibly other cancers.
- coronary heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, diabetes, and a number of other chronic diseases.
And each year, the number of Americans considered obese continues to rise. According to the latest national health survey, 68% of U.S. adults age 20 years and older are now overweight or obese. This is up from 56% in the previous decade.
In addition, the percentage of children who are overweight or obese has also increased.
Sources:
