Sense about Science ? equipping people to make sense of science and evidence
Publications and resources
"Circumcision cuts risk of prostate cancer by 45%"
Dr Matthew Hobbs, Deputy Director of Research at Prostate Cancer UK responded to the study saying:
“Although this study appears to show that circumcision after the age of 35 could reduce your risk of prostate cancer, the evidence presented is nowhere near strong enough that men should begin to consider circumcision as a way to prevent the disease. While the total sample studied was large, the number of men who had been circumcised after the age of 35 was very small, so this should not be seen as strong evidence of an association. There was no statistically significant association between prostate cancer and circumcision for men circumcised at all other ages. No reason was collected for circumcision, so we can’t say if the association is with circumcision later in life or with whatever causes men to have circumcisions after that age. It is also highly likely that diet, lifestyle, socioeconomic status and healthcare behaviours may have played a role in skewing these results.”
Document type: For The Record
Published: 8 April 2014