Men: Infertility as a harbinger of cancer
Luise Heine has been an editor at since 2012. The qualified biologist studied in Regensburg and Brisbane (Australia) and gained experience as a journalist in television, in the Ratgeber-Verlag and in a print magazine. In addition to her work at , she also writes for children, for example for the Stuttgarter Kinderzeitung, and has her own breakfast blog, “Kuchen zum Frühstück”.
More posts by Luise Heine All content is checked by medical journalists.MunichUnfulfilled desire to have children - in almost every third case, the reason for this lies with the man. Those affected are also more likely to develop certain types of cancer.
It has long been known that the sperm quality also allows statements about the state of health of men. Michael Eisenberg and his team at Stanford University School are now investigating whether the weak sperm could also be harbingers of tumor diseases.
From a large health database, they drew the numbers of over 76,000 men who were suspected or had a confirmed diagnosis of infertility. For example, those affected had deformed or simply too few sperm. The mean age was 35.1 years. The researchers compared these with over 112,000 men who had undergone a vasectomy - i.e. sterilization. The information from 760,000 men who were fertile and not sterilized served as a control group. The researchers evaluated the course of the data that had been made between 2001 and 2009.
Your risk of testicular cancer is desperate
The result: men who were considered sterile were most likely to develop skin cancer, prostate cancer, bladder cancer or esophageal cancer, for example. Compared to the fertile control group, their risk of this was increased by 49 percent. For testicular cancer in particular, the probability was even doubled.
Even in comparison to the men with a vasectomy, the men with poor sperm quality performed worse, even though they were on average older than the inherently sterile group. Older age is a risk factor for almost all cancer diseases. Acquired infertility also affected the incidence of cancer in the sterilized men. Their risk of developing a tumor was 22 percent higher than in the fertile control group.
Do health checks
The scientists do not yet know the mechanisms on which the relationship between fertility and susceptibility to cancer is based. "The genetic makeup and lifestyle, for example, could contribute to this development to a certain extent," said Eisenberg. Around ten percent of male genes are involved in reproduction. Changes in the genetic material that affect fertility could also lead to cell degeneration and ultimately cancer. But it is just as possible that unrecognized chronic illnesses or an unhealthy lifestyle play a role for one as well as the other.
A concrete recommendation for action cannot yet be derived at this point in time. “But I would advise men with fertility problems to have their general health checked by a doctor on a regular basis,” says the scientist. (lh)
Source: Eisenberg M. et al. Increased risk of cancer in infertile men: Analysis of US claims data, The Journal of Urology, doi: 10.1016 / j.juro.2014.11.080.
Tags: laboratory values Baby Child menshealth
