|
 |
Frequent ejaculation may reduce prostate cancer risk
Source: (cancerfacts.com)
Wednesday, April 07, 2004
BETHESDA, MD – April 7, 2004 – Frequent sexual activity doesn't increase a man's risk of prostate cancer, on the contrary, it may provide some protection against the disease, according to a study in today's issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).
The thought that sexual activity may play a role in the development of prostate cancer is based on the fact that sexual activity is common and that prostate cancer risk is high. Scientists theorized that increased production of the male hormone testosterone could prompt prostate cell growth.
The study led by Dr. Michael Leitzmann of the National Cancer Institute examined the association between ejaculation frequency (which includes sexual intercourse, nocturnal emission, and masturbation) and risk of prostate cancer and confirmed the findings of a smaller study published last year by an Australian research team.
"Our results suggest that high ejaculation frequency possibly may be associated with a lower risk of total and organ-confined prostate cancer," Leitzmann said in a prepared statement. "These associations were not explained by potential risk factors for prostate cancer, such as age, family history of prostate cancer, history of syphilis or gonorrhea, smoking, and diet."
The National Cancer Institute study used follow-up data from the Health Professionals Follow-up Study that enrolled 29,000 men in the U.S., aged 46 to 81 years between 1992 and January 2000. The men provided information on history of ejaculation frequency on a self-administered questionnaire in 1992 and responded to follow-up questionnaires every 2 years to 2000.
Ejaculation frequency was assessed by asking participants to report the average number of ejaculations they had per month during the ages of 20 to 29 years, 40 to 49 years, and during the past year (1991).
Among the participants, there were 1,449 new cases of total prostate cancer, 953 organ-confined cases, and 147 advanced cases of prostate cancer. When they analyzed the ejaculation frequency of the men diagnosed with prostate cancer and compared it to 1,259 men without cancer, they discovered that men who ejaculated more had a lower rate of cancer.
The study suggested that frequent ejaculations may decrease the concentration of "chemical carcinogens which readily accumulate in prostatic fluid" and may reduce the development of crystalloids "which have been associated with prostate cancer in some."
The prostate is a small gland that produces some of the fluid for semen. Prostate cancer is the second most common kind of cancer (after skin cancer) diagnosed among U.S. men, and is highly survivable if caught in time. In the United States, prostate cancer is found mainly in men over age 55. The average age of patients at the time of diagnosis is 70. The National Cancer Institute and American Cancer Society estimated that 198,000 men would be diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2001 and 31,500 would die of the disease.
Copyright © 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 NexCura, Inc. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of cancerfacts.com content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of NexCura. NexCura® is a registered trademark and cancerfacts.com™ is a trademark of NexCura, Inc. or its affiliates. Copyright © 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004. All rights reserved. This information is for educational purposes only.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Sorry, no related stories available.
|
|
|
|
|
