Circumcision appears to confer a protective effect against the development of prostate cancer (PCa), especially among those circumcised at age 36 years or older and black men, according to research published online ahead of print in BJU International.
Andrea R. Spence, PhD, of the University of Quebec in Laval, Canada, and colleagues conducted a case-control study involving 1,590 prostate cancer cases and 1,618 age-matched population controls. Overall, compared with uncircumcised men, circumcised men had a non-significant 11% decreased risk of PCa. Men circumcised at age 36 years or older had a significant 45% decreased risk of PCa.
The protective effect of circumcision against PCa was weaker among men who were circumcised within 1 year of birth. Among black men, a group that has the highest rate of PCa, circumcision was associated with a significant 60% decreased risk of PCa. No association between circumcision and PCa risk was among other ancestral groups.
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