For years it has been commonly thought that vasectomies might be a factor in developing prostate cancer due to previously conducted research. Now a new study has been published in Journal of Clinical Oncology which disputes this assertion, stating that there is no association between a man having a vasectomy and him developing prostate cancer.
A vasectomy is a surgical method of birth control where the tubules leading out of the testicles are cut so ejaculation of sperm cannot take place, as the sperm can no longer leave the testicles. The prostate is in close proximity to these tubules and plays a part in providing fluid to semen.
In 2014 a study concluded there was connection between prostate cancer and vasectomies with a 10% increase in developing prostate cancer and a 20 % risk of that cancer being fatal for men who had vasectomies.
Both the new 2014 study and the current study were roughly the same size, having the same amount for participants who had prostate cancer. The new research included over 7000 people who died of prostate cancer as opposed to only 800 people who had died from prostate cancer participating in the 2014 study.
Scientists who reviewed data tracked over 363,000 men — 42,000 of whom had had vasectomies — and all of the men participating in the new study were part of a larger ongoing cancer study begun in 1982. All participants were over 40, and 7,400 of the participants died over a 30 year period. These numbers led researchers to conclude there was no quantifiable difference between the development of prostate cancer in men who had had vasectomies and those who had not.
Scientists stress that men interested in reducing their risk for prostate cancer should be concerned with eating healthy and maintaining a healthy weight based on their body type. And above all, if they smoke, quit smoking.