Prostate cancer : the beneficial effect of masturbation questioned

Intense sexual activity between 20 and 40 years may increase the risk of developing prostate cancer , according to a British study , contrary to previous work , which had reached a rather protective effect.
In France , as in most Western countries , the most common cancer in men is the prostate , with 62,245 new cases in 2005 and an average age at diagnosis beyond 70 years.

In 2003-2004 , some studies * had examined the influence of sexual factors, including masturbation and ejaculation more generally , on the risk of developing prostate cancer . The researchers then struggled to find a significant relationship between the two , and when there was one , it was rather in favor of a beneficial effect of frequent sexual practice effect.

But the mischievous idea of " take charge of their health " to prevent prostate cancer could be undermined by a British study published in the journal British Journal of Urology ( BJU ) . Dr. Polyxeni Dimitropoulou and colleagues at the University of Nottingham (United Kingdom ) have shown that intense sexual activity between 20 and 40 years may be linked to greater risk of subsequently developing a prostate cancer .

Most of the work that examined the risk of this type of cancer based on sexual activity focused on the study of older men. "We wanted to analyze the link between sexual activity and younger men ," say British researchers .

They then compared the sexual practices of 431 men who developed prostate cancer diagnosed before age 60 with those of 409 men free of cancer and served as controls . Everyone had to complete a questionnaire about their sexual habits , frequency of sexual intercourse , masturbation , sexual activity globally , detailed from the age of 20 and by 10 years.

Their results show that the overall sexual activity ( masturbation reports + ) in the twenty years increases the risk of prostate cancer , while it seems protective after 50 years.

Thus, 40% of men who developed prostate cancer among those who reported the most intense sexual activity between 20-30 years (20 or more times per month), against only 32% of controls . The same types of patterns were observed between 30-40 years and 40-50 years.

Similarly , frequent masturbation is associated with an increased risk of cancer when performed between 20 and 40 years. For example, between 20-30 years , masturbate two to seven times per week increases the risk by about 80 % compared to less than once per month. And masturbate once a week or more between 30-40 years increases the risk of near de70 %.

However , masturbation has a protective effect between 50-60 years as this practice once or more per week reduces the risk of cancer by 70%.

Moreover, considered alone , the frequency of sex has no impact on the risk of developing this cancer.

In an attempt to explain the link between sexual activity and prostate cancer , researchers quickly evoke a hormonal involvement : " hormones seem to play a key role in prostate cancer (...) The sexual behavior of a man is also regulated by his hormone " rate .

" One possible explanation for the protective effect that 50-60 years seem withdraw their overall sexual activity, and particularly masturbation, is that the release during sexual activity, accumulated toxins reduces the risk of developing cancer in the prostate area , "also suggest the researchers.

According to an article in New Scientist , masturbation in particular limit the accumulation of seminal fluid component of semen. However, some compounds of this fluid (potassium, zinc , fructose, citric acid and 3- methylcholanthrene for smokers ) may have carcinogenic properties in case of stagnation in the prostatic ducts , where the interest of the " release " regular .