Frequent masturbation may help men cut their risk of contracting prostate cancer, Australian researchers have found.
It is believed that carcinogens may build up in the prostate if men do not ejaculate regularly.
Researchers surveyed more than 1,000 men who had developed prostate cancer, and 1,250 men who had not.
They found that men who had ejaculated the most between the ages of 20 and 50 were the least likely to get cancer. Men who ejaculated more than five times each week were a third less likely to develop prostate cancer.
“Had we been able to remove ejaculations associated with sexual intercourse, there should have been an even stronger protective effect of ejaculations,” said Graham Giles of the Cancer Council Victoria, who led the researchers.
Sexual intercourse may not have the same effect because of the higher risk of contracting a sexually transmitted infection, which could in turn raise the risk of cancer.
Young men who are sexually active with more than one sexual partner, regardless of whether they are gay or straight, face an increased risk of prostate cancer in later life.
Researchers at Stockholm’s Karolinska Institute have pointed to sexual promiscuity as a leading risk factor in contracting human papilloma virus (HPV), better known as genital warts. HPV has already been linked to cervical cancer in women.
In men, HPV may explain a recent upsurge in prostate cancer. If the theory is correct, once young men are exposed to HPV it kick-starts a chain of genetic mutations that can lead to cancer decades later.
Prostate cancer affects one in 11 Australian men. In Australia, prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men and it is the 3rd most common cause of cancer death in men. It is generally a disease of older men with 65% of WA cases occurring in men 65 years or older. It is advised that guys above 45 should start regular check ups.
For more information read the full article on the Project-X website, www.projectx.net.au, or contact The Cancer Council Helpline on 13 11 20, The Cancer Council Western Australia on (08) 9212 4333, or go to Lions Australian Prostate Cancer website at www.prostatehealth.org.au.
Simon Yam, Project X
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