Circumcision tied to lower prostate cancer risk

AP

(CBS News) To circumcise or not to circumcise? New research suggests circumcision may protect against prostate cancer, adding a new reported benefit to the procedure. Circumcision can help prevent inflammation and infection, including sexually transmitted infections that may cause prostate cancer, the study found.

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For the study, researchers tested about 3,400 men and found that men who had been circumcised before their first sexual intercourse were 15 percent less likely to develop prostate cancer than uncircumcised men.

The study, led by researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, is published in the journal Cancer.

Circumcision, the surgical removal of the foreskin from the penis, is usually performed shortly after birth. Studies have found the procedure is linked with a reduced risk for HIV and other sexually transmitted infections. Still, circumcision is somewhat controversial, as some argue it's risky and unnecessary.

How does circumcision help prevent sexually transmitted infections? The procedure toughens the inner foreskin and gets rid of the space that may help pathogens survive. "These data are in line with an infectious/inflammatory pathway which may be involved in the risk of prostate cancer in some men," study author Dr. Jonathan Wright, assistant professor of urology at the University of Washington School of Medicine, said in a written statement. "Although observational only, these data suggest a biologically plausible mechanism through which circumcision may decrease the risk of prostate cancer. Future research of this relationship is warranted."

Should all men be circumcised to reduce their prostate cancer risk?

"At the end of the day, we feel there's risks and benefits, and it's up to the parents to decide what is in the best interests of their child," Dr. Andrew Freedman, a pediatric urologist and a member of the circumcision task force at the American Academy of Pediatrics, told MyHealthNewsDaily.

The takeaway message of the study is that sexually transmitted infections may play an important role in the development of prostate cancer, so the relationship between circumcision and STDs should be noted.

The American Academy of Pediatrics, in its official policy statement, says circumcision has potential health benefits, including reduced risk bladder infections and transmission of HIV/AIDs and other sexually transmitted diseases. But the academy said there were potential downsides, pointing to anecdotal reports of reduced sexual sensation in older men and evidence it can lead to painful complications like bleeding and infections.

WebMD has more on circumcision.

10 Photos

Prostate Cancer Self-Defense: Nine Deadly Myths

[howieeg]

Yah, and a bris is just like removing a foot. Why don't we start a campaign against ear-piercing because it clearly "mutilates" the human auditory system?

[PUTYCAT]

I AGREE , BE CLEAN , AND RESPONSIBLE

[matchrestore]

I was circumcised as an infant. I'm not sure of the exact reasoning for me being circumcised, but I was born right at the peak of circumcision rates in the United States, and in the region where it was most common. I am unhappy with the decision to have me circumcised. If I have a son, I will not have him circumcised, because it takes away his right to bodily integrity. There is no way for me to know exactly what I am missing, but I have begun the process of manually restoring my foreskin. Sensitivity has increased because the keratinization that inevitably occurs on the glans of a circumcised ***** is reversing. Keratinization occurs because of constant exposure of the glans to clothing and drying of the glans. In addition, circumcision removes a large amount of nerve endings. While there will inevitably be people that encourage you to circumcise him for hygienic or health reasons, hygienic and health problems related to the foreskin are so rare and easy to avoid and treat without circumcision. This article states that it reduces the risk for HPV (a fact that in itself is disputed), but Gardasil is much more effective. The bottom line though is that once a boy is circumcised, it cannot be undone. It is a permanent alteration to his body. If he chooses later in life, when he is able to understand what circumcision is, to get circumcised he will still have that choice if you leave him intact.

[howieeg]

So spend a few thousand dollars and God-knows how many sergical procedures reconstruct your penille foreskin, and go get-'em, tiger! Just f***-off with trying to undo one of the most sacred rites in Judaism. I'm hardly anti-abortionist, but I am dumbfounded by the disingenuous rantings to save a quarter-inch of excess skin -- a movement by San-Fran Slackers who have no concept of real problems in the world and no compunction over "snipping away" the entire infant several months earlier.

[louis10003]

This is another example of biased news giving, which explains why many people turn to news sources such as Al Jazeera or RT news which is not mixed with personal agendas.
What the headline of your article should have said is "Circumcision is in the decline in America". Because that is what all these articles about circumcision and the supposed health benefits of it are about, how to keep circumcision 'alive'?
But you know like every other human being that circumcision done to a baby boy or girl is wrong. Now THAT would have been an article about truth.

[MikeCollin]

There have been so many studies, everything from Herpes, HIV, HPV, cancer, UTI's foreskin infections, and foreskin problems such as Phimosis, Paraphimosis etc. each time they are published the anti-circ internet trolls start complaining that these studies are flawed and false. Its about time these trolls start realising that there are benefits to circumcision and parents are going to want to pass on these benefits to their sons... . Circumcision is not a cure all but it is considered
by many to be a preventive measure. Yes condoms provides protection from these viruses, but you are living in a fantasy world if you think for one second
that people always use them.

Have you ever checked into unplanned pregnancies for example, especially among young people, i think this speakes for itself.
If anything can be done to help give someone and better defence against any of these problems then maybe it should be considered more and parents should start
requesting it more often.

[Falkner09]

A small amount of studies have suggested reduced HIV/std rates, from circumcising ADULT men who were recruited from STD clinics at high risk, in Africa, then circumcised by researchers who've spent their entire careers promoting circumcision, in a non-blinded controlled trial that was ended early, after the numbers showed reduction less likely to occur later and later in the study. further, the claimed "50%" reduction actually refers to the fact that 2.49% of intact males got infected, vs. 1.18% of the cut men. meanwhile, 10% of each group never finished the study, and their HIV status is unknown. http://www.circumstitions.com/HIV-SA.html#loss

that's a pretty big problem; The basisc, fundamental test of ANY scientific hypothesis is its ability to predict an outcome with consistency. when the true results of a trial aren't actually known, you have to look at the actual disease rates in the real world to figure out if it was any good. lo and behold, the actual rates of HIV are much higher in the US than the rest of the industrialized world, even though it's the only industrialized nation where circ ever was and still is common. and studies Comparing African nations, we find that within African Nations, there's no consistent relationship between circ and HIV; it's just junk.

http://www.ajol.info/index.php/ajar/article/view/7261

All of this is why The vast majority of the medical organizations in the world are opposed to infant circumcision. This includes:
College of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia,
The Canadian Pediatric Society,
British Medical Association,
Swedish Pediatric Society,
Royal Dutch Medical Society,
The Netherlands Society of General Practitioners,
The Netherlands Society of Youth Healthcare Physicians,
The Netherlands Association of Paediatric Surgeons,
The Netherlands Association of Plastic Surgeons,
The Netherlands Association for Paediatric Medicine,
The Netherlands Urology Association,
The Netherlands Surgeons' Association.
Royal College of Surgeons of England,
Royal Australasian College of Physicians,
Royal Australasian College of Surgeons,
Australasian Association of Paediatric Surgeons,
Australian Federation of AIDS Organizations,
Australian Medical Association,
British Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons,
The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Saskatchewan,
Saskatchewan Medical Association,
Norwegian Medical Association,
Norwegian Nurses Organization,
Norwegian Ombudsman for Children,
Faculty of Medicine at the University of Oslo,
Norwegian Council for Medical Ethics,
Central Union for Child welfare in Finland,
Denmark National Council for Children,
German Association of Pediatricians,
British Association of Pediatric Urologists,

[hope4agape]

This story is factually incomplete ...I.E. "new study "
This is actually the 5th study of the effects on circumcision and STD prevention.
like "We hope these data will ultimately result in policy changes in recommending circumcision for young boys or adult men to decrease the rates of infection with HIV, HPV and herpes," said the lead author of the Ugandan study, Dr. Thomas Quinn, a senior investigator in infectious diseases at the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and a professor of medicine at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore.

Results of Quinn's study appear in the March 26 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine."

Only differnce is HPV has now been directly linked to Cancer

[zBriGuy]

Do you know what else reduces the risk of STDs and any cancers associated with them? Safe sex. Education is the answer, not genital mutilation. It's their body, their choice.

[Evirustheslaye]

yah, and hacking off your feet reduces the risk of experiencing foot fungus,but good hygiene is just as effective without the required mutilation.

[howieeg]

Yah, and a bris is just like removing a foot. Why don't we start a campaign against ear-piercing because it clearly "mutilates" the human auditory system?