Elevated Insulin Levels Linked to Increased Prostate Cancer Risk

Men with fasting levels of insulin that are elevated but still within the normal range may be at increased risk of prostate cancer. Demetrius Albanes, from the National Cancer Institute (Maryland USA), and colleagues studied 100 men with incident prostate cancer and 400 age-matched controls within the Alpha-Tocopherol, Beta-Carotene Cancer Prevention Study in Finland. Higher insulin levels were associated primarily with the development of earlier stage disease; risk also was increased for participants in higher quartiles of the homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), which is a resistance index that is highly dependent on fasting insulin. The researchers warn that: “Elevated fasting levels of serum insulin (but not glucose) within the normal range appear to be associated with a higher risk of prostate cancer."