Subsequent cancer diagnosis for obesity?

Subsequent cancer diagnosis for obesity?

Because overweight people have more blood than normal weight, their PSA levels are distorted. They amount to about one-fifth less, although formed from prostate cancer PSA amount is equal, an American study.

In obesity, the mortality is increased in certain cancers. To this end, a subsequent diagnosis can help: Obesity can hamper in many ways, for example through a difficult physical examination, inferior images of imaging techniques and the influence of the blood level of tumor markers. Thus, it was recently found that overrepresentation (measured as increased BMI = body mass index, body mass index) could have a negative impact on the early detection of prostate cancer.

Prostate cancer is most commonly caused by tissue samples ( biopsies ) detected on the basis of elevated PSA levels (PSA = prostate-specific antigen ). Therefore, everything that the PSA level decreases which affect the diagnosis. Many studies have shown that obese men have lower PSA levels than normal weight. This has been explained by an altered metabolism of sex hormones. Another explanation would be the following:

One of overweight has more blood and therefore more plasma (blood fluid) as a normal overweight persons. Therefore, the formed by the cancer cells the PSA is more dilute amount therein, so that the concentration, so the measured PSA decreases.

This hypothesis went researchers now according to a new study. They checked whether in obese men with prostate cancer is accompanied by a larger volume of plasma with a lower PSA concentration. To this end, they evaluated the cases of nearly 14,000 men who had undergone 1988-2006 in one of seven U.S. hospitals radical prostatectomy. Criteria for exclusion were the lack of specific data, a previous TURP (transurethral resection of the prostate, which is a clinical stage T1a or T1b, see this growth and spread of prostate cancer), positive (infected) lymph nodes as well as a previous ray, hormone therapy or chemotherapy.

Here are the key results: Regardless of numerous factors (eg, Gleason score , TNM stage ) were men with pronounced or extreme obesity (BMI of 35) compared to normal weight, while a larger prostate and increased to 21-23% plasma volume. Yet their PSA concentration was before the surgery to 11-21% lower, while present in the plasma total PSA amount was equal to or only slightly larger.

If the lower in overweight PSA levels by a smaller influence of androgens (male sex hormones) were due, the PSA amount would also be lower. Therefore, all the evidence suggests that there is a dilution effect. This could mean that in an obese prostate cancer is detected and treated later. To investigate remains to what extent this explains why the prognosis of prostate cancer worse and the mortality rate is higher in fact overweight.

Conclusion of the authors: In men after radical prostatectomy PSA levels are before the operation to be lower the more overweight they are. This appears to be responsible not the tumor, but the dilution by an increased plasma volume. This relationship, however, has yet to be confirmed in early studies, even including for the Healthy.