Colorectal, Thyroid Cancer Risk May Be Higher for Males With Infertility
Why this matters: health reporting relevant to everyday decisions and well-being.
Research shows a possible association between male infertility and the risk of certain cancers. Image Credit: Fiordaliso/Getty Images. A recent study has found a possible association between severe male infertility and an increased risk of thyroid and colorectal cancers. The study notes that this association may be due to genetic factors. Certain lifestyle factors may also increase the risk of developing these cancers, such as obesity and diabetes. Around 1 in 6 people will experience infertility at some point in their lives, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Previous research has linked male infertility to greater risks of adverse health outcomes, such as cardiovascular diseases and diabetes. Research has also found associations with infertility and an increased risk of testicular cancer and prostate cancer. A recent study published in the European Journal of Epidemiology showed that there may be an association between severe male infertility and non-reproductive cancers, namely thyroid cancer and colorectal cancer. “The study found that men with severe cases of infertility run a higher risk of developing colon cancer and thyroid cancer,” said S. Adam Ramin, MD, board certified urologist, urologic oncologist, and medical director of Urology Cancer Specialists in Los Angeles, CA. Ramin wasn’t involved in the study. “The proposed relationship may be genetic mutations that predispose to cancer but also cause infertility,” he told Healthline. While the study notes the association may be due in part to genetic factors, lifestyle factors, such as smoking, alcohol consumption, obesity, and physical inactivity, may also increase a person’s risk of cancer. Severe infertility and non-reproductive cancer risk The study used registry data to analyze more than 1.1 million Swedish males who had children between 1994 and 2014. Of these, 14,450 became fathers through the use of intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). ICSI is an assisted reproducti