While BPH is not cancerous by definition, analysis of data culled from studies of men with BPH suggests a connection between BPH and the development of urologic cancers, particularly cancers of the prostate or bladder.
What is BPH?
Benign prostatic hyperplasia, or BPH (also known as benign prostatic hyperplasia; benign prostatic hypertrophy; benign prostatic obstruction), is a non-cancerous enlargement of the prostate gland in men. With BPH, the prostate--a walnut-shaped gland that surrounds the urethra where it joins the bladder-- enlarges and presses against the bladder, resulting in a thickening of the bladder, causing it to weaken and lose its ability to empty completely, leaving residual urine.
Men forty and older, those with a family history of BPH, and those with certain medical conditions such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and obesity are at the greatest risk for developing BPH. While the exact cause of BPH is not known, current research links it to inflammation, hormones, age, physical condition, and metabolic factors
Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia Diagram
Correlation between BPH and Prostate and Bladder Cancer
The study, Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia and the Risk of Prostate Cancer and Bladder Cancer, examined data from 16 case-control studies and 10 cohort studies (representing thousands of participants) researching the relationship between BPH and these cancers and found statistically significant evidence of a causal link. In the case-control studies, none of the participants had a history of bladder or prostate cancer and in seven of the cohort studies all of the subjects were cancer free at the start.
Among the findings:
• Men with BPH in the case-control studies had a 4% increase in the incidence of prostate cancer, while those in the cohort studies had a risk-relationship of 1.5%.
• Case-control statistics revealed a 2.5 times greater risk of developing bladder cancer; those in the cohort studies were 1.5 times more likely to develop the disease.
• Asian males were 6 times more likely to develop prostate cancer; the risk for Caucasian males 1.5 percent.
The research suggests that the risk for bladder cancer may be due to residual urine remaining from an incomplete emptying of the bladder caused by the enlarged prostate. This, in turn, results in damage to the urinary tract and an increased exposure to carcinogens normally excreted through the urine.
Impact on BPH and Men’s Health
While this data indicates an increased incidence of prostate cancer and bladder cancer in those studied, with the prostate cancer risk notably high among Asian males with BPH, there are limitations in the material analyzed that warrants further studies with stricter design controls in order to validate these results. Regardless, the researchers believe their research should stimulate and improve the screening and prevention of urologic cancers in men with BPH.
