- NEW YORK (Reuters Health)
- Men's risk of prostate cancer may increase in tandem with the number
of female sex partners they have had in their lifetime, according to the
results of a new study.
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- This finding supports the theory that prostate cancer
may be triggered by an infectious agent, because men with more sex partners
tend to have an increased risk of exposure to infection, according to Karin
A. Rosenblatt of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and her
colleagues. The findings are published in the American Journal of
Epidemiology.
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- Past studies have found links between certain sexually
transmitted diseases--particularly gonorrhea--and prostate cancer. Some
studies have also linked prostate cancer to human papillomavirus, the cause
of genital warts and a major contributor to cervical cancer in women.
However,
other studies have found no link between sexually transmitted diseases
and prostate cancer.
-
- In the new study, the researchers looked at 753 men with
prostate cancer and compared them with 703 men the same age who were
cancer-free.
All were between the ages of 40 and 64.
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- Men who reported having gonorrhea had a slightly
increased
risk of prostate cancer, although other types of sexually transmitted
diseases
did not appear to increase risk significantly.
-
- Having two or more female sex partners during their
teens,
20s, 40s and between age 50 to 64 increased men's risk of prostate cancer,
compared with men who had sex with only one woman during each of these
time periods, the investigators found. Also, men who had 30 or more sexual
partners in their lifetime had an increased risk of more aggressive
prostate
cancer.
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- There was no link between the number of male partners
a man had and cancer, and the frequency of sex did not affect cancer
risk.
-
- In contradiction of previous research, the study found
that having sex for the first time at an earlier age was not associated
with an increased risk of prostate cancer.
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- However, the study could not prove that a higher number
of sex partners was the actual cause of prostate cancer. And more research
is needed confirm the results--and find a reason why they might be
true.
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- ``In summary, our results support a role for sexual
behavior
and associated exposure to infectious agents in the etiology of prostate
cancer,'' Rosenblatt and colleagues conclude. ``Additional research will
be required to identify specific exposures that may explain the observed
link between the number of sexual partners and prostate cancer
risk.''
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- SOURCE: American Journal of Epidemiology
2001;152:1152-1158.
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