Vasectomy and Prostate Cancer Risk: A 38-Year Nationwide Cohort Study

Author(s):  
Anders Husby ◽  
Jan Wohlfahrt ◽  
Mads Melbye

Abstract Background A man’s risk of prostate cancer has been linked to his prior reproductive history, with low sperm quality, low ejaculation frequency, and a low number of offspring being associated with increased prostate cancer risk. It is, however, highly controversial whether vasectomy, a common sterilization procedure for men, influences prostate cancer risk. Methods We established a cohort of all Danish men (born between 1937 and 1996) and linked information on vasectomy, doctor visits, socioeconomic factors, and cancer from nationwide registries using unique personal identification numbers. Incidence risk ratios for prostate cancer by time since vasectomy and age at vasectomy during the follow-up were estimated using log-linear Poisson regression. Results Overall, 26 238 cases of prostate cancer occurred among 2 150 162 Danish men during 53.4 million person-years of follow-up. Overall, vasectomized men had an increased risk of prostate cancer compared with nonvasectomized men (relative risk = 1.15, 95% confidence interval = 1.10 to 1.20). The increased risk of prostate cancer following vasectomy persisted for at least 30 years after the procedure and was observed regardless of age at vasectomy and cancer stage at diagnosis. Adjustment for the number of visits to the doctor and socioeconomic factors did not explain the association. Conclusions Vasectomy is associated with a statistically significantly increased long-term risk of prostate cancer. The absolute increased risk following vasectomy is nevertheless small, but our finding supports a relationship between reproductive factors and prostate cancer risk.

Cancers ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (12) ◽  
pp. 3873
Author(s):  
Liang Hu ◽  
Andrew Harper ◽  
Emily Heer ◽  
Jessica McNeil ◽  
Chao Cao ◽  
...  

We investigated the association of social jetlag (misalignment between the internal clock and socially required timing of activities) and prostate cancer incidence in a prospective cohort in Alberta, Canada. Data were collected from 7455 cancer-free men aged 35–69 years enrolled in Alberta’s Tomorrow Project (ATP) from 2001–2007. In the 2008 survey, participants reported usual bed- and wake-times on weekdays and weekend days. Social jetlag was defined as the absolute difference in waking time between weekday and weekend days, and was categorized into three groups: 0–<1 h (from 0 to anything smaller than 1), 1–<2 h (from 1 to anything smaller than 2), and 2+ h. ATP facilitated data linkage with the Alberta Cancer Registry in June 2018 to determine incident prostate cancer cases (n = 250). Hazard ratios (HR) were estimated using Cox proportional hazards regressions, adjusting for a range of covariates. Median follow-up was 9.57 years, yielding 68,499 person-years. Baseline presence of social jetlag of 1–<2 h (HR = 1.52, 95% CI: 1.10 to 2.01), and 2+ hours (HR = 1.69, 95% CI: 1.15 to 2.46) were associated with increased prostate cancer risk vs. those reporting no social jetlag (p for trend = 0.004). These associations remained after adjusting for sleep duration (p for trend = 0.006). With respect to chronotype, the association between social jetlag and prostate cancer risk remained significant in men with early chronotypes (p for trend = 0.003) but attenuated to null in men with intermediate (p for trend = 0.150) or late chronotype (p for trend = 0.381). Our findings suggest that greater than one hour of habitual social jetlag is associated with an increased risk of prostate cancer. Longitudinal studies with repeated measures of social jetlag and large samples with sufficient advanced prostate cancer cases are needed to confirm these findings.


2009 ◽  
Vol 181 (4S) ◽  
pp. 166-167
Author(s):  
Lauren P Wallner ◽  
Michaela McGree ◽  
Debra J Jacobson ◽  
Jennifer L St. Sauver ◽  
Steven J Jacobsen ◽  
...  

2019 ◽  
Vol 76 (Suppl 1) ◽  
pp. A71.1-A71
Author(s):  
Marie-Elise Parent ◽  
M Hugues Richard

BackgroundGeneral population exposure to asbestos from residential insulation and from environmental sources during childhood have recently been associated with prostate cancer. While asbestos fibers can be found in the prostate of workplace-exposed men at autopsy, few occupational studies have reported on asbestos exposure and prostate cancer incidence. We examined the association between lifetime occupational exposure to chrysotile asbestos and prostate cancer risk in a large population-based case-control study.MethodsCases were 1933 men with histologically-confirmed incident prostate cancer, aged ≤75 years, diagnosed in 2005–2009 in Montreal. Concurrently, 1994 population controls from the same residential area and age distribution were randomly selected from electoral lists. In-person interviews elicited detailed socio-demographics, lifestyle and work histories. Industrial hygienists used job-specific information to provide semi-quantitative evaluations of intensity and frequency of exposure to 345 chemical agents, including asbestos, and a measure of confidence in the evaluation. Logistic regression was used to estimate odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for prostate cancer risk associated with exposure to chrysotile asbestos.ResultsAfter restriction to probable and definite exposure, and application of a 5 year lag, 12.5% of cases and 11.8% of controls were ever exposed to asbestos (OR=1.1, 95% CI 0.9–1.3). For duration of exposure, there was no increase in risk of overall prostate cancer in the lower tertiles of exposure but risk was elevated in the upper tertile (OR=1.6, 95% CI 1.2–2.2). Similarly, for cumulative exposure, risk was elevated in the upper tertile only (OR=1.5, 95% CI 1.1–2.1). Analyses considering tumor grades also showed a higher risk in the upper tertile of cumulative exposure for non-aggressive (OR=1.5, 95% CI 1.1–2.2) and especially aggressive (OR=1.9, 95% CI 1.2–3.0) cancers.ConclusionOur findings are consistent with an increased risk of prostate cancer with prolonged and high cumulative exposure to chrysotile asbestos, and particularly for the aggressive form of the disease.


PLoS ONE ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. e94683 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcelo Chen ◽  
Yi-Ling Huang ◽  
Yu-Chuen Huang ◽  
Irene M. Shui ◽  
Edward Giovannucci ◽  
...  

2012 ◽  
Vol 104 (21) ◽  
pp. 1684-1686 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Polesel ◽  
A. Zucchetto ◽  
R. Talamini ◽  
L. Dal Maso ◽  
D. Serraino ◽  
...  

2014 ◽  
Vol 32 (27) ◽  
pp. 3033-3038 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohummad Minhaj Siddiqui ◽  
Kathryn M. Wilson ◽  
Mara M. Epstein ◽  
Jennifer R. Rider ◽  
Neil E. Martin ◽  
...  

Purpose Conflicting reports remain regarding the association between vasectomy, a common form of male contraception in the United States, and prostate cancer risk. We examined prospectively this association with extended follow-up and an emphasis on advanced and lethal disease. Patients and Methods Among 49,405 US men in the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study, age 40 to 75 years at baseline in 1986, 6,023 patients with prostate cancer were diagnosed during the follow-up to 2010, including 811 lethal cases. In total, 12,321 men (25%) had vasectomies. We used Cox proportional hazards models to estimate the relative risk (RR) and 95% CIs of total, advanced, high-grade, and lethal disease, with adjustment for a variety of possible confounders. Results Vasectomy was associated with a small increased risk of prostate cancer overall (RR, 1.10; 95% CI, 1.04 to 1.17). Risk was elevated for high-grade (Gleason score 8 to 10; RR, 1.22; 95% CI, 1.03 to 1.45) and lethal disease (death or distant metastasis; RR, 1.19; 95% CI, 1.00 to 1.43). Among a subcohort of men receiving regular prostate-specific antigen screening, the association with lethal cancer was stronger (RR, 1.56; 95% CI, 1.03 to 2.36). Vasectomy was not associated with the risk of low-grade or localized disease. Additional analyses suggested that the associations were not driven by differences in sex hormone levels, sexually transmitted infections, or cancer treatment. Conclusion Our data support the hypothesis that vasectomy is associated with a modest increased incidence of lethal prostate cancer. The results do not appear to be due to detection bias, and confounding by infections or cancer treatment is unlikely.


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