Objectives: To examine whether an association exists between body mass index (BMI) and prostate cancer detection rates or pathologic features of cancer in Japanese urologic patients.
Methods: We studied the age, BMI, and biopsy results of 481 patients who underwent transrectal prostate biopsy. They were stratified by BMI into three groups according to the cutoffs recommended for Asian populations: normal, BMI less than 23.0 (n = 248); overweight, BMI 23.0 to 25.0 (n = 116); and obese, BMI greater than 25.0 (n = 117). We then compared the cancer detection rates and pathologic features among the three groups. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was also performed.
Results: No significant differences in the cancer detection rate were found among the three groups (40.2% to 43.1%, P = 0.87) on univariate analysis. Multivariate logistic regression analyses revealed significant associations between the BMI and cancer detection (P = 0.029, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.85 to 0.99), but no significant associations were observed between BMI and the presence of Gleason components 4 or 5 (P = 0.061, 95% CI 0.79 to 1.01), poor cell differentiation (P = 0.174, 95% CI 0.96 to 1.24), or clinically organ-confined disease (P = 0.45, 95% CI 0.84 to 1.08).
Conclusions: BMI seems to have a significant impact on prostate cancer detection rates, although it seems difficult to apply the BMI directly to the management of patients at risk of prostate cancer in urologic clinics.