Metabolic Factors Boost PCa Mortality, Not Risk

A large, long-term study found no evidence of an association between a high level of metabolic factors and prostate cancer (PCa) risk, but high body mass index (BMI), elevated blood pressure (BP), and a composite score of all metabolic factors were associated with an increased risk of PCa-related death.

In a study by Christel Häggström, MSc, of Umeå University Hosiptal in Umeå, Sweden, and colleagues, 961 of 6,673 men diagnosed with PCa died from the disease during a mean follow-up of 12 years, according to an online report in Cancer.

Men with high glucose and triglyceride levels had a decreased PCa risk, but men in the highest BMI and BP quintiles were 36% and 62%, respectively, more likely to die from PCa. Each 1-unit increment in composite score was associated with a 13% increased risk of PCa mortality.