Lifestyle and Prostate Cancer Recurrence

April 9, 2003 -- Keeping weight under control, getting plenty of physical activity, and getting regular screenings seems to help stop prostate cancer recurrence.

A new study looks at factors that seem to predict the success or failure of treatment for prostate cancer, a common cancer among older men.

Researchers surveyed more than 1,100 men with localized prostate cancer -- cancer that has not spread outside the prostate gland, reports lead researcher Mfon S. Cyrus-David, MD, epidemiologist with the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. His research is published in the 2003 Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research.

Those patients who were obese -- a body mass index of 30 or more -- exercised less than twice a week, and did not get annual prostate screenings were significantly more likely to have a prostate cancer recurrence, says Cyrus-David. In addition, men who drank alcohol were more than twice as likely to have a prostate cancer recurrence.

"What we are finding has positive implications for prostate cancer prevention," he explains in a news release. "It appears to be important that men maintain a low body mass index, exercise to the point of sweating at least two times a week, and be screened regularly for prostate cancer."

Although researchers say their conclusions are preliminary, the study is the first to show the effect of lifestyle on prostate cancer recurrence.

The American Cancer Society recommends prostate cancer screenings for men over age 40. Prostate cancer is more common as men age, with 75% of all cancers found in men over age 65.