Men looking for more motivation to hit the weight bench in the new year (it’s resolution time again!) might want to take note of a new study published in the December 2005 edition of the Journal of Urology. According to the results from research that looked at some 439 prostate cancer patients and 479 of their siblings who did not have the disease, those men with a higher lean body mass were less likely to develop prostate cancer – particularly the aggressive form.

The researchers believe that lean body mass, which is basically body mass minus any fat (think muscle,) may be associated with lower prostate cancer risk due to a potentially protective effect of the male hormone androgen against the disease.

Apparently, the link between male hormones and prostate cancer is not so clear cut, as androgen deprivation is often used to treat hormonally-responsive forms of the disease. The idea that higher levels of androgen may protect against prostate cancer is intriguing, to say the least.

SOURCE: Reuters – Lean body mass may protect against prostate cancer

Technorati Tags: Cancer Prevention, Exercise, Prostate Cancer