This isn’t your daddy’s cancer scare.
Studies have previously linked low sperm count to an increased risk of cancer, but recent research takes that a step further.
Researchers on the University of Tartu in Estonia found that men with a more general reproductive issue are rather more prone to even have genetic variants for cancer.
The warning sign? Infertility.
In men, infertility is defined as not having the ability to impregnate a girl after a 12 months of getting unprotected sex frequently. Causes can range from insufficient or low-quality sperm, injury to the realm, blockages and genetic conditions like cystic fibrosis.
Roughly 1 in 10 men have some kind of fertility issue within the US. Globally, sperm counts have dropped by as much as 50% within the last 50 years.
In prior studies, each infertile men and their relatives have been observed to have a better cancer risk, suggesting a possible genetic underpinning.
The recent study, published within the journal Human Reproduction Open, attempted to explore this potential genetic predisposition by analyzing the information of 500 men with unexplained fertility problems.
Their findings were striking: Infertile men had five times as much of a risk of hereditary cancer as men who were fertile.
“We found that amongst infertile men, every fifteenth infertile man carried a predisposing genetic variant, in comparison with one in 64 fertile men,” lead creator Anu Valkna, the chair of Human Genetics on the University of Tartu in Estonia, said.
“This will explain why infertile men have a better cancer risk — they have already got a genetic predisposition that makes the body more vulnerable to cancer,” Valkna added.
The researchers also found a link between a family history of cancer and developing the disease.
“This supports the hypothesis that there’s a predisposition in these families,” she noted.
The implications of those findings are significant, as men typically “seek medical attention for infertility at a younger age, often before the progression and diagnosis of cancer,” Valkna said. “Due to this fact, early identification of predisposed patients would offer effective monitoring and early interventions.”
“Furthermore, since some hereditary cancer syndromes are inclined to disproportionately affect female relations, additional identification of at-risk relations would offer added clinical value to those families,” she added.
This isn’t your daddy’s cancer scare.
Studies have previously linked low sperm count to an increased risk of cancer, but recent research takes that a step further.
Researchers on the University of Tartu in Estonia found that men with a more general reproductive issue are rather more prone to even have genetic variants for cancer.
The warning sign? Infertility.
In men, infertility is defined as not having the ability to impregnate a girl after a 12 months of getting unprotected sex frequently. Causes can range from insufficient or low-quality sperm, injury to the realm, blockages and genetic conditions like cystic fibrosis.
Roughly 1 in 10 men have some kind of fertility issue within the US. Globally, sperm counts have dropped by as much as 50% within the last 50 years.
In prior studies, each infertile men and their relatives have been observed to have a better cancer risk, suggesting a possible genetic underpinning.
The recent study, published within the journal Human Reproduction Open, attempted to explore this potential genetic predisposition by analyzing the information of 500 men with unexplained fertility problems.
Their findings were striking: Infertile men had five times as much of a risk of hereditary cancer as men who were fertile.
“We found that amongst infertile men, every fifteenth infertile man carried a predisposing genetic variant, in comparison with one in 64 fertile men,” lead creator Anu Valkna, the chair of Human Genetics on the University of Tartu in Estonia, said.
“This will explain why infertile men have a better cancer risk — they have already got a genetic predisposition that makes the body more vulnerable to cancer,” Valkna added.
The researchers also found a link between a family history of cancer and developing the disease.
“This supports the hypothesis that there’s a predisposition in these families,” she noted.
The implications of those findings are significant, as men typically “seek medical attention for infertility at a younger age, often before the progression and diagnosis of cancer,” Valkna said. “Due to this fact, early identification of predisposed patients would offer effective monitoring and early interventions.”
“Furthermore, since some hereditary cancer syndromes are inclined to disproportionately affect female relations, additional identification of at-risk relations would offer added clinical value to those families,” she added.
