such a relationship may exist. The two studies compared the number of prostate-cancer diagnoses in almost 25,000 men who had undergone vasectomy with nearly 50,000 men who had not. Men who had undergone vasectomy more than 20 years earlier were almost twice as likely as their unsterilized counterparts to have been diagnosed with prostate cancer. Overall, the rate of such diagnoses was about 60% higher among the men who had been sterilized. These widely-reported studies stirred up some fears of a possible prostate-cancer/vasectomy connection and no doubt convinced some men to avoid the operation all together.
But, the short answer is no. There isn’t an exact known causes of prostate cancer, but there are risk factors, such as being African American or of African descent.
Scientists behind the Harvard study emphasize that their findings only establish a statistical link – and not a cause – between the disease and vasectomies. ‘The results support the hypothesis that vasectomy is associated with an increased risk of advanced or lethal prostate cancer,” said study co-author Lorelei Mucci, associate professor of epidemiology at Harvard School of Public Health.
Additional urgent investigation is needed to find out why men who had the procedure showed increased cancer risk.
In the meantime, if a trip to get snipped just got knocked waaaay down on your list of things to consider, condoms are still a 98% effective option. Use them EACH AND EVERY encounter.
Visit the BlackDoctor.org Prostate Cancer center for more articles.