Researchers evaluate risk of future prostate cancer among obese men with benign prostate biopsies
When compared with non-obese men, researchers have discovered that obese men are more likely to have precancerous abnormalities detected in their benign prostate biopsies and are at an increased risk for developing prostate cancer later on.
To examine the link between obesity and future prostate cancer occurrence, Andrew Rundle, DrPH, associate professor of epidemiology at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health in New York City, and colleagues studied a group of 6692 men at the Henry Ford Health System who were at high risk for prostate cancer and followed for 14 years after a benign biopsy. A case-control study was conducted among 494 of these patients and 494 matched controls.
In 11% of the benign samples, researchers discovered precancerous lesions and, after taking several variables into consideration, determined that obesity at the time of the initial biopsy correlated with a 57% greater occurrence of prostate cancer during follow-up.
The study is published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention.
Source: AACR.