Sunday, July 13, 2014

An operation that may be a bit less popular soon

Vasectomy raises risk of lethal prostate cancer, study shows | Society | theguardian.com

From the report:
Harvard scientists analysed the medical records of nearly 50,000 men
and found that those who had the operation were 10% more likely to be
diagnosed with the disease.
The study revealed a stronger link with the most serious forms of prostate cancer,
with rates of advanced or lethal disease rising by 20% in men who had
the procedure. The danger seemed to be highest among men who had a
vasectomy before the age of 38.
As the article goes on to note, the rate of increased risk amongst men who have had the snip is not exactly dramatic, but it's still pretty bad PR for an operation that I suspect has peaked in popularity.  (Just taking a guess on that point.)

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

It will be interesting to see what comes of it, as I gather previous research showed no link with any long term problems.

The problem is that contraception is a wonderful thing in so many ways but, if true, this forces options back on women who might say they've taken the risks of being on the pill and they'd rather the risks were shared now.

Geoff