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The use of body mass index to predict pathological stage in patients with clinically localized prostate cancer.

Pummer K, Stettner H, Augustin H, Zigeuner R, Habermann H, Schips L, Riedler I, Trummer H, Lipsky K, Williams SB

Department of Urology, Medical University of Graz, Austria.

BACKGROUND: To investigate whether body mass index (BMI) is an independent risk factor for nonorgan-confined disease in patients with clinically localized prostate cancer. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Overall, 735 patients undergoing radical prostatectomy formed the study cohort. Pathological and clinical factors with special emphasis to BMI were used to determine a model for the prediction of nonorgan-confined disease. RESULTS: 359 patients had pathologically nonorgan-confined prostate cancer. These patients showed a significantly higher BMI than those with organ-confined disease (26.7 vs. 26.2; p = 0.0012). In multivariate analysis, age (p = 0.049), prostate-specific antigen (PSA) (p < 0.001), clinical stage (p < 0.001), prostatectomy grade (p < 0.001), and BMI (p = 0.004) were independent risk factors for nonorgan-confined disease. In patients with a serum PSA between 10.1 and 20 ng/ml only prostatectomy grade (p < 0.001) and BMI (p = 0.005) remained independent predictors. CONCLUSION: Patients with nonorgan-confined disease showed a significantly higher BMI than those with organ-confined stages. Moreover, BMI was an independent predictor for nonorganconfined prostate cancer. This knowledge might be helpful in patient counseling to choose between various options for the treatment of clinically localized prostate cancer.

Published 24 September 2007 in Onkologie, 30(10): 489-94.
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