The novel research that studied the love lives of 809 adults found that men who were more sexually active in their 20s and 30s were at a substantially higher risk to get prostate cancerdefinedefine, the most common cancer in men.
To reach their findings, scientists at the University of Nottingham carried out a research on the sexual habits of 400 men with prostate cancer patients and 409 without the disease. The study participants were asked about their sexual behaviors while they were younger.
In their study, the researchers’ team, led by Dr Polyxeni Dimitropoulou of the Nottingham University, found a clear link between high levels of sexual hormones
define, sexual appetite and the development of prostate cancer.
Dr Dimitropoulou said, "What makes our study stand out from previous research is that we focused on a younger age group than normal and included both intercourse and masturbation at various stages in the participants' lives."
He added, “We were keen to look at the links between sexual activity and younger men as a lot of prostate cancer studies focus on older men as the disease is more prevalent in men over 50.”
The team learned that two-fifths of the respondents with prostate cancer had frequent sexual activities with six or more women or masturbated 20 or more times per month during their younger days, while less than one-third in the group of healthy persons indulged in the same activity with the same frequency.
In both groups 59 percent reported they had sex 12 or more times per month in their 20s, declining to 48 percent at the age of 30-40, further falling to 28 percent between 40 and 50 and 13 percent at the age of 50 or more.
"Hormones appear to play a key role in prostate cancer and it is very common to treat men with therapy to reduce the hormones thought to stimulate the cancer cells," said Dr. Dimitropoulou. "A man's sex drive is also regulated by his hormone levels, so this study examined the theory that having a high sex drive affects the risk of prostate cancer."
Dr. Dimitropoulou and colleagues reported their findings in the British Journal of Urology.
John Neate, chief executive of The Prostate Cancer Charity in the U.K., called the latest findings ‘useful,’ but at the same time urged for more research.
"The role of sexual activity is becoming an increasing focus for prostate cancer research, but unfortunately this study does little to offer any practical advice to men wishing to reduce their risk of the disease," Neate said.
Prostate cancer is a disease in which cancer develops in the prostate gland. In this condition, the prostate cells start becoming abnormal and began to grow uncontrollably, forming tumors. This is the most common cancer in men and the second leading cause of cancer-related death in men.
The disease can be cured if detected early. Despite advances in early detection, nearly 40 percent of patients experience recurrence and this form of tumor remains the second most common cancer in men in the United States. Nearly 230,000 American men are diagnosed with prostate cancer each year, and about 30,000 die of it. The death rate is 2.5 times higher among blacks than among whites.
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