Body fat distribution linked to prostate cancer risk

Higher levels of abdominal and thingh fat are linked with an increased risk of aggressive prostate cancer, researchers have found.

Prior studies have demonstrated that obesity is linked with an increased risk of advanced prostate cancer and poorer prognosis after diagnosis. Also, emerging evidence suggests that the specific distribution of fat in the body may be an important factor.

Researchers from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health analysed body fat distribution and assessed the risk of being diagnosed with, and dying from, prostate cancer among 1832 Icelandic men who ere followed for up to 13 years.

During the study, 172 men developed prostate cancer and 31 died from the disease. The accumulation of fat in specific areas such as visceral fat (deep in the abdomen, surrounding the organs) and things subcutaneous fat (just beneath the skin) was associated with the risk of advanced and fatal prostate cancer.

It is hoped that the findings, hich were published online in Cancer, a peer-revieed journal of the American Cancer Society, may lead to a better understanding of the relationship between obesity and prostate cancer and provide new insights for treatment.