Weight gain linked to riskier prostate cancer

Weight gain in the late teens and 20s may increase the risk of prostate cancer mortality later in life, a European conference has heard.

Findings are presented today at the European Congress on Obesity held in Dublin, Ireland from 17 to 20 May.

Dr Marisa da Silva of Lund University, Malmo, Sweden, and colleagues analysed figures on 258,477 men in Sweden who had been weighed at least three times in an ongoing study.

They found a link between weight gain between the ages of 17 and 29, and aggressive and fatal prostate cancer over a follow up of around 43 years.

For example, they estimate that gaining 1kg (2.2lb) a year between the ages of 17 and 29 years may increase the risk of aggressive prostate cancer by 13%, and the risk of mortality from prostate cancer by 27%.

Weight gain tended to be greater in the age range 17 to 29 years, and it was this time period which seemed to be linked to later prostate cancer.

Dr da Silva said: “Knowing more about the factors that cause prostate cancer is key to preventing it. The only well-established risk factors, such as increasing age, a family history of the disease and several genetic markers, are not modifiable, making it vital to identify risk factors that can be changed.”

She points out that excess body fat may act to increase the risk of fatal prostate cancer, although the mechanism is not fully unclear.

“Previous research has implicated elevated concentrations of insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1), a hormone that is involved in cell growth and development, with an increased risk of prostate cancer,” she said.

“Levels of this hormone are raised in people with obesity and a steep increase in weight may fuel this elevation and the development of the cancer.”

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