Inflammation in Prostate May Indicate Reduced Risk for Prostate Cancer

A new study says that signs of inflammation in male prostrate indicate lower risk for prostate cancer.

Studies conducted prior to this showed that chronic inflammation was a sign of future cancer risk. Nearly 20 percent of the estimated adult cancers may be linked to chronic inflammatory conditions. In order to check if inflammation in the prostate doubles the risk of cancer in the gland, clinical trials were conducted by Daniel Moreira, MD, along with colleagues at the North Shore-LIJ Health System.

Prostate cancer, mainly found in older men, is a cancer that develops in the tissues of the prostate gland in the male reproductive system. The National Cancer Institute reveals that in 2013 nearly 238,590 new  prostate cancer cases were reported and 29,720 men died of this cancer.

In the current study, the researchers conducted a retrospective analysis of the Reduction by DUtasteride of PCa Events (REDUCE) trial. The trial included 6,238 men of ages 50 to75. These participants reported increased prostate inflammation with a negative biopsy i.e. cancer was not detected.

Later, they had to undergo two more biopsies, each conducted within a gap of two years. The researchers noted that both the biopsies showed lower risks of prostate cancer in those with higher levels of prostrate inflammation. In the follow-up biopsies, prostate cancer was detected in 900 participants i.e. in 14 percent. Men with inflammation in the original biopsy were on average 30 percent less likely to be diagnosed with prostate cancer.

 This indicates that those with negative biopsies in prostates and high inflammation are at lower risk of getting prostate cancer in the future.

"Because we have shown that inflammation has a predictive value, it should be routinely evaluated in prostate biopsies," Dr. Moreira, a urologist, said in a statement. "Also, this research shows that patients showing inflammation at an initial biopsy may be evaluated by their physician differently from with patients without inflammation at an initial biopsy given their risk of subsequent cancer detection is lower."

Previous studies on the link between inflammation and prostate cancer came up with mixed results. "There are epidemiological studies that linked some types of inflammation with having higher risk of prostate cancer. But there are other studies that looked at the pathology of prostate, and they actually saw a lower risk of prostate cancer in people with inflammation," Moreira said.

The association between the two still remains a mystery but the researchers assume that the immune system responds with inflammation when it identifies cancer cells as a threat to the human body. The study was published in the journal CANCER.