Weight Gain Linked to Recurring Prostate Cancer 

The weight of a man when diagnosed with prostate cancer, along with how much weight he gains after the diagnosis can predict how aggressive the cancer will be and also its chances of returning.

New research from the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, in Dallas, shows men who gain weight rapidly between ages 25 and 40 are twice as likely to have their prostate cancer return after surgery than men who gained weight more slowly. Those who gained about three and a half pounds per year were most at risk.

Researchers also found a higher risk of recurrence in men who are age 40 and obese when they're diagnosed with prostate cancer.

"They are more likely to experience biochemical failure, which is when their PSA level rises, and their failure is likely to come sooner after surgery than in men who did not gain weight rapidly, or who were not obese," says Sara S. Strom, Ph.D., of the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center.

Researchers suggest the aggressiveness of the cancer is linked to how much a man weighs when he's diagnosed with the disease, as well as his history of weight gain.

Strom says it's not clear how excess weight contributes to the progression of prostate cancer, but it may be linked to changes in different hormones and/or poor diet and inadequate physical activity.

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SOURCE: Clinical Cancer Research, 2005;11:6889-6894 Related Articles in Archives: