Does Sex Increase Risk of Prostate Cancer?
Best study shows that sex appears to protect men against prostate cancer
Prostate cancer strikes 232,000 American men annually and kills 30,000—numbers similar to the toll of breast cancer on women. Could sex raise men’s risk?
Contrasting Studies
Some studies have found no increased risk, but others have shown that sex just might raise risk:
• Italian researchers found that compared with men who never married, those who did—and presumably had more sex—had significantly greater risk of prostate cancer. For men married more than twice, risk was three times that of never-married men.
• University of Illinois researchers correlated prostate cancer risk with men’s age at first intercourse and estimated lifetime number of women sex partners. The younger the men became sexually active, the greater their risk of prostate cancer. And the more sex partners they reported, once again, the greater their risk.
• And University of Iowa researchers found that as number of women sex partners increased, so did risk of prostate cancer, with men who reported sex more than three times a week showing the greatest risk.
But these were all small studies. Small numbers of subjects raise questions about the credibility of the results. In addition, they measured only partner sex. Studies have shown that prostate cancer is to some extent sexually transmitted. A history of STIs, especially gonorrhea and syphilis, approximately doubles prostate cancer risk. It’s not entirely clear how STIs spur development of prostate cancer, but these infections cause inflammation, which apparently trigger or accelerate cancerous cell changes. Partner sex that includes intercourse without condoms exposes men to risk of sexual infections. But ejaculations during solo sex flush cancer-causing germs out of men’s prostates.
Recent Study
To decide this issue once and for all, researchers at the National Cancer Institute conducted a huge study of 29,000 men, aged 46 to 81. The NCI investigators asked them to estimate their number of weekly ejaculations—solo and partnered—during their twenties, forties, and during the past year. Compared with men who reported seven or fewer ejaculations per month, men who experienced 21 or more were significantly less likely to develop prostate cancer.
So the biggest, best study shows that sex appears to protect men against prostate cancer. Which may popularize a new come-on line: “Hey, babe, wanna help me prevent prostate cancer tonight?” And if your partner is not in the mood to help you prevent prostate cancer, you can reduce your prostate cancer risk with self-pleasuring.
I wish you sizzling sex.
[scroll down for related Questions & Answers]
Reference
Leitzmann, MF et al. “Ejaculatory Frequency and Subsequent Risk of Prostate Cancer,” Journal of the American Medical Association (2004) 291:1578. doi:10.1001/jama.291.13.1578
Questions & Answers
I’ve answered more than 12,000 sex questions from people around the world, of all ages, for free. Here are a few that relate to the topic of this post. If you’d like to ask me a question of your own, please go to GreatSexGuidance.com.
I’ve had a great sex life with my boyfriend, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer. After the first hormone shot, everything changed. What can be expected going forward? Will we be able to regain some of the physical pleasure? Will we ever be able to have intercourse again? Read my response…
I’ve heard that, especially for men over 50, ejaculating at least 2 or 3 times per week can help clear out prostatic fluid build-up and reduce the chance of getting prostate cancer. Is there any truth to that? And if my partner only wants sex 2 or 3 times a month, does that mean I have to masturbate twice a week to keep my prostate healthy? Read more and my response…
My 72-year-young husband is almost completely recovered from nerve-sparing prostate surgery . . .he can get a relatively-firm, penetrating erection with manual &/or oral stimulation; and he can get a firmer erection with cialis. BUT he says that he does not achieve an intense orgasm as he did before surgery. He says it’s pleasant, stimulating; but not the same, not as intense. We are doing every creative, patient thing we can think of . . . but we’d like him to get that intense “reward,” so he will continue to want to engage in lovemaking. Hoping for some insight. . . Read my response