HealthDay Reporter
MONDAY, July 12, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- When men person precocious prostate cancer, obesity mightiness connection thing of a endurance advantage, a preliminary survey suggests.
Researchers successful Italy recovered that among men with prostate cancer that had dispersed passim the body, those who were obese were little apt to dice implicit the adjacent fewer years.
Roughly 30% were inactive live aft 3 years, versus 20% of normal-weight and overweight men, the survey found.
The researchers stressed that nary 1 is advising men to battalion connected pounds arsenic a defence against prostate cancer: Obesity is associated with a higher hazard of processing and dying from assorted chronic ills, including a fig of cancers.
But implicit the years, immoderate studies person recovered that crab patients with a higher body wide index (BMI) thin to past longer -- a improvement sometimes called the "obesity paradox."
The caller findings hint that the paradox mightiness besides use to precocious prostate cancer.
However, 1 adept not progressive successful the survey urged caution successful drafting conclusions.
Critically, the reasons for the survey patients' obesity, oregon thinness, are not clear, explained Dr. Vinayak Wagaskar, a urologist astatine Mount Sinai's Icahn School of Medicine successful New York City.
He noted that BMI was measured lone aft the men had developed precocious crab that was nary longer responding to hormonal therapy -- and not close aft their prostate crab diagnosis.
That's important, successful part, due to the fact that definite treatments for prostate cancer -- including hormonal therapy and steroid medications -- tin origin weight gain.
Plus, Wagaskar said, patients' value could person been affected by further aesculapian conditions they had.
He said the survey brings up an "interesting concept," but helium stressed the request for much probe -- with men's BMI measured astatine the clip of diagnosis.
For the study, Dr. Nicola Fossati and colleagues astatine San Raffaele University successful Milan looked astatine information connected astir 1,600 men who'd been progressive successful erstwhile clinical trials. All patients had metastatic prostate cancer that was not responding to hormonal therapy. Metastatic means it had dispersed to distant sites successful the body.
While early-stage prostate crab is highly treatable, metastatic crab is different: About 30% of men with specified precocious illness past for 5 years, according to the American Cancer Society.
In this study, Fossati's squad recovered that men with a BMI of 30 oregon higher -- the obesity threshold -- were 29% little apt to dice implicit 3 years than those with a little BMI.
The findings were presented Sunday astatine the yearly gathering of the European Association of Urology (EAU), being held online. Research presented astatine meetings is mostly considered preliminary until published successful a peer-reviewed journal.
In a quality merchandise from the meeting, Fossati said, "This obesity paradox has been seen successful immoderate different cancers, perchance owed to the narration betwixt insubstantial abdominous and crab genomes, and much probe is needed successful this area."
On the different hand, helium said, the findings mightiness bespeak immoderate enactment betwixt crab chemotherapy and different medications.
"Obese patients successful this older property radical thin to beryllium taking medicine for different conditions," Fossati noted, "and we bash not afloat recognize however these medicines interconnect."
Dr. Peter Albers, seat of the EAU's Scientific Congress Office, besides cautioned that the reasons down the obesity paradox, successful general, are uncertain.
"It mightiness beryllium that patients with higher BMI are capable to tolerate the toxicity of the treatments and their broadside effects better," Albers said successful the release. "In prostate crab it mightiness beryllium owed to the protective interaction of hormones recovered successful insubstantial fat; and it is known that steadfast men with somewhat higher BMI person a higher wide beingness expectancy compared to precise slim ones."
But, helium stressed, that's each conjecture.
"Further probe is needed to place the biologic mechanics down these antithetic outcomes," Albers said. "Until that mechanics is proven, we can't urge immoderate alteration to attraction for patients with precocious prostate cancer."
In fact, Wagaskar said, immoderate different studies person linked obesity not lone to a higher hazard of processing prostate cancer, but besides to "worse cancer-related outcomes."
Fossati agreed that a steadfast value scope should beryllium the goal. "Obesity is simply a hazard origin for galore cancers and different diseases," helium said, "and patients should ever purpose for a steadfast BMI of 18 to 24."
More Information
The American Cancer Society has much connected prostate crab causes and prevention.
SOURCES: Vinayak G. Wagaskar, MBBS, MCh, instructor, section of urology, Icahn School of Medicine astatine Mount Sinai, New York City; European Association of Urology yearly meeting, quality merchandise and online presentation, July 11, 2021
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