Posted on 07/11/2014 10:59:41 AM PDT by KeyLargo
Vasectomy linked with aggressive prostate cancer risk Thursday 10 July 2014 - 3am PST Prostate / Prostate Cancer Men's Health Cancer / Oncology
In the largest and most comprehensive study of its kind, researchers from Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, MA, find that vasectomy is associated with a small increased risk of prostate cancer, and a larger increased risk for advanced or lethal prostate cancer.
Prostate cancer is a major cause of cancer-related deaths in men in the US, where vasectomy is a common form of contraception, with around 15% of American men having the minor procedure, which blocks the tubes that carry sperm from the testicles to the penis.
The researchers report their findings in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, where they note that the link was still evident among men who had regular PSA tests, suggesting the link with increased risk of lethal cancer cannot be due to diagnostic bias.
Co-author Lorelei Mucci, associate professor of epidemiology at Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH), says:
"This study follows our initial publication on vasectomy and prostate cancer in 1993, with 19 additional years of follow-up and tenfold greater number of cases. The results support the hypothesis that vasectomy is associated with an increased risk of advanced or lethal prostate cancer."
For the study, Prof. Mucci and colleagues analyzed data on 49,405 American men who were followed between 1986 and 2010 as participants of the Health Professionals Follow-up Study. The men were aged between 40 and 75 years at the start of the 24-year follow-up period.
(Excerpt) Read more at medicalnewstoday.com ...
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Must say I have often wondered if there was a link.
Glad the article got to this point:
“In this study, 16 out of every 1,000 men developed lethal prostate cancer over 24 years of follow-up. Thus, the result that vasectomy was linked to a 20% raised risk of lethal prostate cancer, is relative to that 16 out of 1,000.”
Its a warning from mother nature don’t mess with her
Not relevant,not as important as breast cancer.
Even though I agreed to have it done, I felt deep-down (not just religiously), that it was the wrong thing to do. I definitely regret it now.
My wife understands that contraception is her problem, not mine. She never had a problem with that.
Interesting. I think it is the Chinese who consider cancer to be a disease of stagnation. Blocking the tubes would be like blocking a stream which would lead to stagnation.
I have read that a womans bra (if too tight)can block certain ducts and that can cause stagnation and thus cancer too.
My husband didn’t have a vasectomy and no one in his family has had it, and he got prostate cancer at 50.
He was even vegan for the 3 years prior to that in an effort to lower his cholesterol, and prostate cancer loves fat.
Don’t know why he got it.
Other theories are when guys carry their cellphones in their pockets. Or that the prostate gets burned out from porn addiction (not to accuse your Husband of course). It has been suggested that the slowing of the sex drive (less sex in later years) leads to a stagnation as well. I am constantly hearing commercials about prostate cancer this and that and even have to wonder if that has something to do with it (a mind over matter type thing ((or auto suggestion)) He whom you fear awaits you, comes to mind. Dunno, but I am of the age to have to wonder now.
First rule of medicine is do no harm.
“My husband didn’t have a vasectomy and no one in his family has had it, and he got prostate cancer at 50.
He was even vegan for the 3 years prior to that in an effort to lower his cholesterol, and prostate cancer loves fat.
Don’t know why he got it.”
Th study at the link just addresses aggressive prostate cancer and not prostate cancer risks for men.
What are the risk factors for prostate cancer?
http://www.cancer.org/cancer/prostatecancer/detailedguide/prostate-cancer-risk-factors
Risk factors for prostate cancer
We don’t know exactly what causes prostate cancer. But research shows that some factors may affect your risk. We are still unclear about the link between some of these factors and prostate cancer risk.
Your risk of prostate cancer may be affected by
• Age
• A family history of cancer
• Genes
• Ethnicity
• Having cancer in the past
• Calcium in your diet
• Height and body weight
• Hormones
• IGF-1 (insulin like growth factor)
• Vasectomy
• Cadmium
• Inflammation of the prostate
My husband has none of those risk factors.
I do think he has led a very stressful lifestyle. He has been a workaholic and has never slept well or exercised. On top pf that, we have a special needs kid.
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You’re right. Basically, the risk of getting this is .016%! I.e., that’s about 0%!
I have reflux disease. With that I have about a .2% chance of cancer. If I progress to Barrett’s Esophagus, I go to about 5%. Much more - and frankly, most prostate cancer is minor, especially compared to esophageal cancer, which is “doom”. But even 5% is nothing to fibrillate over.
One of my uncles got it at about 75+. He died 6 years later, from other issues. Never treated aggressively, just seeds in the prostate. My dad, his brother, got it at about 70 (vasectomy), and was treated more aggressively with standard treatment, and has been clear for some years now (God willing will stay that way). Did very well with just radiation, although it was a pain to do.
Not generally as troublesome as breast cancer. Especially when women lose their breasts - and guess who doesn’t like that?
But most (I emphasize most, with a personal connection) breast cancer can be treated successfully, just as prostate can easily.
He underwent radical treatment and his PSA numbers dropped below one and stayed there for about 7 years then climbed up over to over 10 and then started spiking. The doctors had told him when they saw his numbers drop to near zero that it would likely climb again but that he would most likely die of other causes. He was otherwise much healthier than they gave him credit for the Prostate in his last year and a half went back into his pelvic bone and he was on Chemo and a new drug Zytiga I think was the name about the last three months but it made him too sick to take it. In the last 2-3 months of his life it hit his brain. He died at age 83. Not so long ago many if not most men didn't live into their 80's and early to mid 70's was about the norm for non smokers. They likely had Prostate Cancer of some form and died from other unrelated issues.
I'd say if they made a study they would also link high testosterone levels to more probability and it would also make treatment more difficult as that is what Prostate cancer feeds on to grow. How much? Who knows.
Sadly, prostate cancer awareness is nowhere near the awareness and funding of breast cancer.
Men’s Health
Prostate Cancer
In the US, one in six men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime making it the most frequently diagnosed cancer in men after skin cancer. In 2013, over 238,000 new cases of the disease will be diagnosed and almost 30,000 men will die of prostate cancer in the US alone.
Despite these figures, the level of awareness, understanding and support for prostate cancer lags significantly behind that of women’s health causes.
A man is 35% more likely to be diagnosed with prostate cancer than a woman is to be diagnosed with breast cancer.
One new case of prostate cancer occurs every 2.2 minutes and a man dies from the disease every 17.5 minutes.
The incidence rates are double for African American men.
If detected and treated early, prostate cancer has a 97 percent success rate.
http://us.movember.com/mens-health/prostate-cancer
Doc started checking me at about age 50. To heck with what the Obama Panels say, early detection is the key to dealing with it especially in aggressive type. I ran into an old shipmate I also went to high school with a few years back. They had just found it in him and eradicated it.
I'm already on meds for enlargement so I'm gonna keep a close eye on it. Not really worry but realize the potential. Good thing I like tomatoes LOL.
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