Men with low fertility have less risk of cancer – Swedish research show

Friday, 27 January 2012
Men with reduced fertility have a significantly lower risk of developing prostate cancer than other men, according to a new Swedish study. Researchers have also found a genetic link which opens up new treatments and better prevention of cancer. The results are reported to be promising, according to radio Sweden report.

“I think they are incredibly exciting, they lie as a foundation for new research,” says Dr. Yvonne Lundberg Giwercman at Lund University to radio Sweden.

The researchers compared 450 men with prostate cancer with an equal number of healthy men and found that men who have difficulty having children run half as likely to get prostate cancer.

It was also found that the explanation may lie in the genes, when identified, two gene variants that affect both male and female sex hormones and the ability to take up the environmental toxin dioxin, which reduces fertility showed up.

This is important new knowledge, according to researcher Yasir Ruhayel.
“These genetic hereditary factors could possibly be used to estimate the risk that one should suffer for the disease later,” he says.

10,000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer each year in Sweden. More than 2000 die from the disease and that means, a little pointedly, to just over 7000 men treated unnecessarily.

“The focus on breast cancer research has led to significantly improvement in patient outcomes, while research on prostate cancer has lagged behind,” says Yasir Ruhayel, adding that “it’s a delay of up to two decades compared to breast cancer.”

The researchers are initiating more studies on more men to further investigate the genetic relationships and to more securely identify the genes that reduce the risk of prostate cancer.

In the Swedish study it was examined also whether there were lifestyle factors that increase the risk of prostate cancer, but to strong conclusion could be gathered from that side of the study.
At present, it is thus the genetic trail that is most interesting.
“Heredity plays a role, it is known. Otherwise, there are not so many things we know,” says Yvonne Lundberg Giwercman of Lund University to radio Sweden.
By Scancomark.se Team

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Men with low fertility have less risk of cancer – Swedish research show

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