WEDNESDAY, Jan. 11 (HealthDay News) -- Doctors may have more
difficulty in detecting prostate cancer in obese men, which could
lead to delayed diagnosis and increased risk of death, researchers
say.

A study led by experts at Duke University Medical Center found that
doctors may be 20 percent to 25 percent less likely to identify
prostate cancer in obese men. Doctors need to be aware of this and
be especially thorough when examining obese men for prostate cancer,
the study authors recommended.


"Diagnosing prostate cancer is a bit like finding a needle in a
haystack. The bigger the haystack you have, the harder it is to find
the needle, and in this case, we may be missing cancers in obese
men," principal investigator Dr. Stephen Freedland, an assistant
professor in Duke's department of surgery-urology, said in a
prepared statement.


He and his colleagues reviewed the medical records of 1,400 men who
had their prostrates removed after being diagnosed with prostate
cancer. The average weight of obese men's prostate glands was 40
grams, compared to a normal weight of 20 to 30 grams. An enlarged
prostate increases the risk that a biopsy will fail to detect
cancer, the experts say.


In addition, they note that it is more difficult to perform digital
rectal exams on obese men compared with thinner men.


The study appears in the February issue of the Journal of Urology.