Thursday, July 2, 2009

Obesity may speed the spread of prostate cancer

Obesity may speed the spread of prostate cancer. In a study of more than 500 men who had their prostates removed, PSA levels began to rise--which means that the disease was progressing in about 30 percent of the obese men versus 20 percent of the men who weighed less.

Among men with rising PSAs, levels started to climb only 1 1/2 years after surgery in those who had gained the most weight (more than 3 pounds per year) since the age of 25. In contrast, PSAs didn't start to climb until roughly 2 years after surgery in those who had gained 1 to 3 pounds per year since age 25, and not until 3 1/2 years after surgery in those who had gained less than 1 pound per year.

What to do: If you're a man who needs one more reason to avoid gaining weight as you age, you've got it.

Clinical Cancer Research 11: 6889, 2005.

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