In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Troeschel et al found that postdiagnosis obesity was associated with higher cardiovascular disease mortality and all-cause mortality, and postdiagnosis weight gain was associated with higher all-cause and prostate cancer–specific mortality in survivors of nonmetastatic prostate cancer.
Study Details
In the study, men in the Cancer Prevention Study II Nutrition Cohort diagnosed with nonmetastatic prostate cancer between 1992 and 2013 were followed for mortality through December 2016. Current weight of the patients was self-reported on questionnaires approximately every 2 years. Weight change was the difference in reported weight between the first and second postdiagnosis surveys. Postdiagnosis body mass index (BMI) was obtained from a survey completed 1 to < 6 years after diagnosis.
Key Findings
Among 8,330 patients included in the postdiagnosis BMI analyses, there were 3,855 deaths from all causes, including prostate cancer–specific mortality in 500 patents and cardiovascular disease mortality in 1,155. For patients with postdiagnosis obesity vs those at a healthy weight (BMI ≥ 30 vs 18.5 to < 25 kg/m2), hazard ratios were 1.28 (95% confidence interval [CI] =0.96–1.67) for prostate cancer–specific mortality, 1.24 (95% CI = 1.03–1.49) for cardiovascular disease mortality, and 1.23 (95% CI = 1.11–1.35) for all-cause mortality.
Among 6,942 patients included in the weight change analysis, there were 2,973 deaths from any cause, including 375 due to prostate cancer–specific mortality and 881 due to cardiovascular disease mortality. For postdiagnosis weight gain of > 5% of body weight vs stable weight (plus or minus < 3%), hazard ratios were 1.65 (95% CI = 1.21–2.25) for prostate cancer–specific mortality, 1.19 (95% CI = 0.93–1.52) for cardiovascular disease mortality, and 1.27 (95% CI = 1.12–1.45) for all-cause mortality.
The investigators concluded, “Results suggest that among survivors of nonmetastatic prostate cancer with largely localized disease, postdiagnosis obesity is associated with higher cardiovascular disease mortality and all-cause mortality, and possibly higher prostate cancer–specific mortality, and that postdiagnosis weight gain may be associated with a higher mortality as a result of all causes and prostate cancer.”
Ying Wang, PhD, of the Behavioral and Epidemiology Research Group, American Cancer Society, is the corresponding author for the Journal of Clinical Oncology article.
Disclosure: The study was supported by the American Cancer Society and Laney Graduate School at Emory University. For full disclosures of the study authors, visit ascopubs.org.
