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Masturbation and Prostate Cancer Risk (WebMD)
Jan 28th, 2025 by Viviane
Masturbation Frequency Linked to Prostate Risk in 20s, Protection in 50s
By Daniel J. DeNoon
WebMD Health News
Reviewed by Louise Chang, MD
Jan. 27, 2009 — Frequent masturbation in young men is linked to higher risk of early prostate cancer, but it lowers prostatecancer risk for men in their 50s, a study shows.
High levels of male sex hormones, or androgens, may increase a man’s risk of prostate cancer. But different studies of this question, done in different ways, have reached different conclusions.
To look at the question in a new way, a team of researchers at England’s University of Nottingham looked at whether men with more intense sex drives were at higher risk of prostate cancer.
Polyxeni Dimitropoulou, PhD; Rosalind Eeles, PhD, FRCP; and Kenneth R. Muir, PhD, obtained detailed sexual histories from 840 men. About half the men got prostate cancer by age 60, and about half did not have cancer.
The findings were surprising. Sexual intercourse did not affect prostate cancer risk. But frequent masturbation did — in different ways, at different times of life.
“Frequent masturbation during men’s 20s and 30s increased their risk of prostate cancer,” Dimitropoulou tells WebMD. “But men in their 50s who masturbated frequently had decreased risk.”
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Thanks, Lynsey!
Tags: cancer, health, men