Aggression and Recurrence
Results of two recent studies have shown that people who are obese are at increased risk of developing highly aggressive prostate cancers and are more likely to see the disease return after prostatectomy. Dr Christopher L Amling from the Naval Medical Center in San Diego, and colleagues examined data obtained from 3162 patients who had their prostate surgically removed between 1987 and 2002. 19% of participants were classified as clinically obese. Results linked obesity to higher prostate specific antigen (PSA) levels, significantly more advanced tumor development, and higher levels of tumor recurrence. Meanwhile, results of another study by Dr Stephen J Freedland at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, and colleagues reported similar results. Freedland found that obese patients developed prostate cancer at a younger age and that their cancers had higher biologic and pathologic Gleason scores – a measure of a cancer’s aggressiveness.
SOURCE/REFERENCE: Reported by www.reutershealth.com on the 23rd December 2003.
