Obesity May Interfere With Prostate Cancer Screen

“The test commonly used to screen men for prostate cancer may be more likely to miss tumors in obese men, a new study suggests. In a study of 535 men in a free prostate cancer screening program, researchers found that obese men were more likely to have relatively low levels of prostate specific antigen (PSA), even when their prostate findings were abnormal. PSA levels in the blood typically rise when a man has prostate cancer, so PSA testing is often used to screen for the disease. Men with a high PSA level can then have further testing to get a definitive diagnosis. The new findings, published in the journal Urology, suggest that because obese men's PSA levels tend to be relatively low in general, some cancers may be missed or not detected promptly.”

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