Infertile men are at greater risk for developing prostate cancer: Study

Mar 23 2010

Infertile men are at nearly three times greater risk for developing clinically significant prostate cancer than the average man according to a new study published in the journal, Cancer.

“Known risk factors for prostate cancer include age, family history and race. Now, these findings provide evidence that male infertility also plays a significant role in determining risk”

The study was conducted by a team of researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, under the direction of Paul Turek, MD, a pioneer in men’s reproductive health. Dr. Turek now heads his own practice, The Turek Clinic, in San Francisco.

“Known risk factors for prostate cancer include age, family history and race. Now, these findings provide evidence that male infertility also plays a significant role in determining risk,” said Dr. Turek.

The retrospective study looked at more than 22,000 men who were evaluated for infertility from 1967 to 1998 from 15 California infertility centers and linked to the California Cancer Registry. The risk of prostate cancer was compared to the incidence in the general population, matched by age and geography.

The analysis identified 168 post-infertility prostate cancers; men with male factor infertility were 2.6 times more likely to be diagnosed with high-grade prostate cancer.

The study also identified abnormal semen parameters 10 years before cancers were diagnosed, suggesting that early prostate cancer screening is warranted in men with male factor infertility.

"This study confirms our earlier published work with testis cancer and suggests that male infertility may be an early marker for later disease in men," according to Dr. Turek.

Male infertility, sometimes called male factor infertility, affects about five to 10 percent of reproductive age men. In about 40 percent of all infertile couples, the cause is due to male “factors.”

SOURCE The Turek Clinic