Excess Weight and Insulin Increase Prostate Cancer Mortality

Multiple studies have indicated that obesity before or at the time of prostate cancer diagnosis increases the mortality risk. However, they have not attempted to explain the association, the authors said.

Among obesity-driven metabolic changes that could influence prostate cancer mortality, hyperinsulinemia stands out as a prime suspect, they continued.

Laboratory studies demonstrated that mice fed a high-energy diet gained weight, became hyperinsulinemic, had accelerated growth of prostate cancer xenografts, and had increased downstream signaling of the insulin receptor in neoplastic prostate tissue.

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Locally Advanced Prostate Cancer Mortality Cut

According to a long-term study in Sweden, 18% of men given hormone therapy for locally advanced prostate cancer died of their tumor after a median follow-up of 10 years, said Anders Widmark, M.D., of Umea University in Umea, Sweden.

Surprisingly, he added, the cancer mortality was reduced to 8.5% for those who also had localized radiation therapy, Dr. Widmark said at the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology meeting here.

"External beam radiation treatment should be used along with hormone therapy to increase survival for men with locally advanced prostate cancer," Dr. Widmark said before his late-breaking plenary presentation.

The study didn't just focus on longevity, but also on quality of life. It monitored and measured factors not commonly considered like erectile dysfunction and other side effects experienced by prostate cancer patients both during and following treatment.

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