@Article{,
AUTHOR = {Rebecca L. O’Malley, Samir S. Taneja},
TITLE = {Obesity and prostate cancer},
JOURNAL = {Canadian Journal of Urology},
VOLUME = {13},
YEAR = {2006},
NUMBER = {Suppl.2},
PAGES = {11--17},
URL = {http://www.techscience.com/CJU/v13nSuppl.2/63348},
ISSN = {1488-5581},
ABSTRACT = {The relationship between obesity and prostate cancer is
currently a hotly debated topic, but despite the number
of publications devoted to the topic, the actual nature of
the relationship remains uncertain. Obesity has been
shown to have a direct relationship with the incidence of
prostate cancer in a number of studies but an equal
number of studies have shown no association. The
relationship is further obscured with recent findings that
obesity in younger obese men may actually be protective
against prostate cancer. Confounding factors include the
lack of correlation of body mass index (BMI) as a measure
of central obesity and the lack of consistency in timing of
BMI measurements, i.e. before or after diagnosis and in
young or advanced adulthood. Evidence for increased
BMI as a risk factor for prostate cancer is unclear, but
less ambiguous is the mounting substantiation that
obesity is associated with prognostically worse disease,
poorer post-surgical outcomes and increased prostate
cancer mortality, irregardless of margin status. From a
biologic perspective, one can put forth a number of
potential mechanisms by which obesity might promote
prostate cancer and/or prostate cancer progression
including; low levels of testosterone, increased levels of
estrogen, co-existing diabetes or metabolic syndrome,
increased circulating insulin-growth factor-one (IGF-1),
increased levels of leptin, decreased levels of adiponectin
and increased dietary saturated fats. Evidence for the
association of these factors with prostate cancer are
examined herein. The timing of serum measurements is
crucial in elucidating whether these factors have causative
influence on prostate cancer or rather are produced by
the prostate cancer cells and are better understood as
markers of disease. The interaction between obesity and
prostate cancer is important to clarify because it will have
impact on the prevention, prognostication and treatment
of prostate cancer. Future study with careful attention
to avoid the methodological pitfalls of the past need be
accomplished to bear out the nature of the interaction of
obesity and prostate cancer.},
DOI = {}
}