Scientists from the University of Illinois have found a link between a man’s risk of developing prostate cancer and the number of female sexual partners he has had. The discovery that men who have had more partners are more likely to develop the disease supports the theory that the cancer may be triggered by a viral or bacterial infection. Previous studies have implicated gonorrhea and the human papillomavirus (HPV) to the development of prostate cancer. The new research found that men who had had gonorrhea had a slightly increased risk of developing prostate cancer, however the risk of developing the disease was seen to increase significantly in accordance with the number of female sexual partners. Furthermore, men who had had more than 30 female partners in their lifetime were more likely to develop a more aggressive form of prostate cancer. The study failed to find a link between the number of male partners a man had had and the risk of developing the disease.
SOURCE/REFERENCE: American Journal of Epidemiology 2001; 152:1152-1158
