Oxford research on prostate cancer risk factors

Research from the University of Oxford has identified several physical and biological indicators associated with the risk of prostate cancer, particularly aggressive forms of the disease.

An initial large-scale study involving over 141,000 men across eight European countries established correlations between physical measurements and cancer outcomes. While height was not linked to overall risk, taller stature was associated with a higher likelihood of high-grade tumors and increased mortality. Additionally, abdominal fat was identified as a significant factor, with every 10-centimeter increase in waist circumference linked to a 13% increase in high-grade tumor risk and an 18% increase in the risk of death from the disease.

Subsequent research by Oxford Population Health focused on biological markers, identifying 12 blood proteins that can predict prostate cancer development more than a decade before diagnosis. Among these, the protein GZMK suggests an immune system component in managing the disease, while the protein ANKRD1 was specifically linked to aggressive, fatal, or spreading forms of the cancer.