A new study by
University of Texas Cancer centre has shown that men who gain weight
rapidly between the ages of 25 to 40 are twice as likely to have
recurrence of prostate cancer after surgery as men without rapid rates
of weight gain.
According to the
study published in the recent issue of Clinical Cancer Research,
patients who are obese at the age of 40, and at the time of diagnosis
with prostate cancer, also have a higher risk of recurrence.
Patients who
gained an average of three and a half pounds a year have a higher risk
for having their prostate cancer recur. 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.
In
a study of 526 patients, men who gained weight faster between age 25 and
the time of diagnosis of their prostate cancer were at greater risk for
recurrence of the disease than men who gained weight more slowly or who
were not obese.
The men at
greater risk gained an average of 1.5 kilogram per year, or about three
and a half pounds per year. Thus, a man who weighed 150 pounds at age
25,but weighed over 200 pounds by age 40 would be at a higher risk for
recurrence.