Overweight and obese men at the time of diagnosis are nearly twice as likely to die from locally advanced prostate cancer as patients who had a normal BMI, according to a new study published in CANCER, the journal of the American Cancer Society.

The study by Massachusetts General Hospital followed 788 patients with locally advanced prostate cancer over 8 years to examine any independent relationship between BMI and prostate cancer-specific mortality.

They found that being overweight or obese at the time of diagnosis was a unique, independent risk factor for death from prostate cancer. Compared to men with normal BMI (BMI<25), men with BMI between 25 and 30 were more than 1.5 times more likely to die from their cancer. Similarly, men with BMI  over 30 were 1.6 times more likely to die from their disease compared to men with normal range BMI.

After five years, the prostate cancer mortality rate for men with a normal BMI was less than seven percent compared to about 13 percent for men with a BMI over 25.

The study was the first to use data from a large randomized prospective treatment study with long-term follow-up to investigate this relationship.

“Further studies are warranted to evaluate the mechanisms for this increased cancer-specific mortality among overweight and obese men and to assess the impact of BMI on survival following other management strategies and in clinically localized disease,” said Dr. Jason Efstathiou, lead author.

“Whether weight loss after prostate cancer diagnosis alters disease course remains to be determined.”

Journal Link

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