Circumcision and Prostate Cancer | Prostate Cancer Survivors ...

A new study by researchers at the University of Washington has kicked up a dust storm.? The report, first announced in the journal Cancer suggests a possible link between circumcision and prostate cancer.? The study tells us that men who are circumcised before their first sexual encounter may be less likely to develop prostate cancer later on.

Controversy over whether circumcisions should be performed on newborns is nothing new.? But when a study suggests that circumcision surgery may lower the risk of prostate cancer that?s when medical hypothesis, morality and sexual inhibitions clash.? ?I am sickened that you would promote painful, risky surgery on newborns for? ?possible? future benefits. This study does NOT prove any causation between foreskin and cancer. It?s merely a theory,? writes one irate woman on the internet.? ? I really have nothing against circumcision, ?? reads another comment. ?But you can really tell when the media tries to force a viewpoint. This study is so far-fetched?it?s laughable.?

Stripped of the emotional reactions, let?s look at what?s before us.? An observation based on surveys and medical records of 1,754 men with prostate cancer and 1,645 men without the disease.? The scientists found that those who were circumcised before? they had sex for the first time were 15% less likely to develop prostate cancer than their uncircumcised counterparts. They were also 18% less likely to develop more aggressive forms of prostate cancer.

Here?s what the study authors wrote:? ? The moist environment under the preputial skin (foreskin) may help pathogens survive? for extended periods of time prior to direct infection.? Combining the finding of a relationship between a history of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and prostate cancer risk along with reduction in the? STIs in circumcised men has led to the hypothesis that circumcision might reduce prostate cancer development by decreasing prostatic exposure to infectious agents. ?

The rate of in-hospital circumcisions rose from 48.3% between 1988-1991 to 61.1% between 1997-2000.? But then the trend declined but did not take? into account the number performed outside hospitals.? In Jewish families, for instance, the ritual is strictly observed.? What? really appears to account for the declining trend has to do with insurance coverage which may have been declined and higher rate charged by hospitals.? In addition, when the American Academy of Pediatrics declared there was not enough data to recommend the routine circumcision back in 1999 and reaffirmed in 2005, it likely led parents to decline the procedure for newborns.

What seems clear to us is that more studies are needed to confirm the hypothesis of the Washington University study.? It means parents debating whether to circumcise their newborn baby boys still may face a difficult decision to make?whether the operation is a good idea or not.? Data shows circumcision does help prevent infections disease like HIV and AIDS, but as for prostate cancer, the jury is still out.

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 13th, 2012 at 10:06 pm and is filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Source: http://www.prostatecancersurvivorspeak.com/circumcision-and-prostate-cancer/

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