March 5, 2009
Study suggests link between male infertility and testicular cancer
Men who are infertile appear to have an increased risk of developing testicular cancer, according to a report in the Feb. 23 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.
Testicular germ cell cancer, the most common cancer among young men in industrialized countries, has become even more prevalent during the last 30 to 50 years. There is evidence that semen quality and male fertility have also declined during this time in industrialized nations; however, it is unclear whether these two trends are related.
Thomas J. Walsh, then of the University of California, San Francisco, and now of the UW School of Medicine, worked with his colleagues to analyze data from 22,562 male partners of couples seeking fertility treatment between 1967 and 1998. Their records were linked to the state cancer registry, which includes information about cancer cases confirmed between 1988 and 2004.
A total of 34 of the 22,562 men were diagnosed with testicular cancer at least one year after seeking treatment for infertility. Compared with men of the same age in the general population, men in couples seeking treatment for infertility were 1.3 times more likely to develop testicular cancer. Men with male factor infertility were 2.8 more likely to develop testicular cancer than those without this condition.
Walsh and his research team said there may be a common exposure that underlies infertility and testicular cancer. Walsh, a UW physician and assistant professor of urology, also said the findings call for more research to better understand the results.
