Obesity Is a Risk Factor for Prostate Cancer

A recent study in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that obesity can be a risk factor for prostate cancer, particularly in African American men, although the exact reason for the link is unknown.

“What the study tells us is that men who are obese in general have a higher risk of prostate cancer,” said Michael Schwartz, MD, director of robotic and laparoscopic urologic surgery at the Smith Institute for Urology at the North Shore-LIJ Health System. “However, what this study also tells us is that men who are Black and obese have a tendency to get higher risk prostate cancer, which means a potentially more aggressive disease.”

Prostate cancer is a hormonally-sensitive cancer, Dr. Schwartz says, and obese patients have a different hormonal balance because of the way that fat is processed, so this could be a reason for the association between prostate cancer and obesity.

The recommended age for prostate screening is between about 55 to 75, Dr. Schwartz said. For a man with a family history of prostate cancer, he should begin getting tested at 40. Dr. Scwhartz starts to take a baseline Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) test with some patients in their early 40s because there have been studies that even a slightly higher PSA earlier in life could mean a higher risk of prostate cancer later on.

“If you have a concern, if you’re a Black man, about prostate cancer at all, as long as you have a discussion and understand what’s involved with screening and what’s involved with potential, down-the-road additional evaluation such as biopsy and imaging, or treatment options and what treatment is involved, if you understand these things, I think it’s certainly reasonable [to get screened earlier],” Dr. Schwartz said.

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