Your body mass index indicates the amount of body fat you have based on your height and weight. Anything over 25 indicates you are overweight, while a reading over 30 indicates obesity. Carrying excess weight negatively impacts your health in numerous ways and research indicates a high BMI increases your chances of recurring prostate cancer.
Weight Gain After Surgery
A study conducted at Johns Hopkins University, led by Corinne E. Joshu, looked at weight gain after a prostatectomy and its effect on cancer recurrence. The study, presented at a 2009 meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research, collected data on more than 1,300 men who underwent surgery for their prostate cancer. It found that men who increased their BMI to the unhealthy range of 25 or more within one year of the surgery were almost twice as likely to experience a recurrence. The study also found that being overweight before the surgery also increased the risk of recurrence.
BMI Over 35
A study published in the November 2005 issue of "Urology" looked at the rates of prostate cancer recurrence in relation to BMI. It followed the participants for 23 months. At 13 months, 12 percent of the men experienced a recurrence of the cancer. The researchers found that men with a BMI of 35 or more were 1.69 times more likely to get cancer again, compared to men whose BMIs fell below 25.
Fat and Cancer Cell Growth
Your prostate cells feed on fat to survive, says the National Cancer Institute. Even after successful treatment, fat can stimulate the growth of dormant cancer cells.
Fat and Hormonal Changes
Overweight or obese patients also appear to suffer more aggressive recurrent tumors, according to a study conducted at Duke University. Lead researcher Dr. Jayakrishnan Jayachandran says that obesity alters the production of hormones like estrogen, testosterone and insulin and these alterations might play a role in the formation of more aggressive tumors.
References
- American Cancer Society: Men Who Put on Pounds After Prostatectomy Nearly Double Odds of Recurrence, One Study Finds
- PubMed.Gov: Impact of Obesity on Prostate Cancer Recurrence After Radical Prostatectomy
- Duke University: Obesity Increases Risk of Prostate Cancer Recurrence for Both Blacks and Whites
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