Prostate cancer (PCa) is becoming an increasingly important public health problem worldwide, and anthropometric studies have revealed that body composition is a potential risk factor for this type of cancer. The objective of the present study was to compare Italians with PCa and no history of androgen deprivation therapy or bone metastases with healthy controls in terms of body composition. We recruited 11 PCa patients [mean age (+/-SD), 68.67+/-4.93 years; body mass index (BMI), 28.42+/-2.96 kg/m(2)] and 11 healthy controls matched for age and BMI. Anthropometric and body composition parameters were measured for all participants using dual X-ray absorptiometry and bioelectric impedance analysis techniques. We found that lean body mass, but not fat mass, was significantly lower for PCa patients in comparison with healthy controls (50.24+/-5.03 vs. 53.63+/-5.61 kg, p<0.05). Thus, PCa patients with no history of androgen deprivation therapy and no bone metastasis suffer muscle mass depletion.