Increased Cancer Risk in Relatives of Men with Infertility

Relatives of men who have infertility problems may be at increased risk of cancer, and the odds vary widely from family to family.

Research suggests that certain relatives within three generations of such men are more likely to develop a variety of cancers, including cancers that affect the colon, testicles, and uterus. However, the risk varies by family lineage and whether the man is infertile or subfertile.

Male infertility has been linked to multiple health problems; cardiovascular diseases etc.. Previous research has also pointed out the following: Association between male infertility and increased cancer risk in relatives of such men.

Joey Ramsay Researchers at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City suspected this might vary from family to family. To find out, they analyzed the sperm counts of 360 men who produced fewer than 1.5 million sperm per milliliter of semen and 426 men who produced no sperm at all. These men were matched in age to more than 5,600 of his others with whom he had at least one biological child. Researchers do not know whether any of the participants were transgender.

Next, they obtained information on cancer diagnoses in the men's first-, second-, and third-degree relatives from Utah's database.

The research team found that relatives of men with low sperm counts within three generations were more likely to develop colon and testicular cancer compared to the general population, and some of those related to men with low sperm counts They discovered there was a high chance of developing sarcoma, Hodgkin said. Lymphoma, cancer of the uterus and thyroid. Both of these groups had much higher rates of bone and joint cancer than the general population.

The researchers then used specially developed software to determine the increased risk of cancer combinations in 34 body regions within different families (both fertile and infertile groups). We have detected a tendency to This resulted in “clustering” that allowed trends within families to be detected.

Two-thirds of male relatives who did not have sperm were at no higher risk of cancer than the general population. However, other families showed a significantly increased risk of various types of cancer, and that risk varied by family lineage, with higher risks for childhood, adolescent, and young adult cancers. There were people too.

Relatives of men with low sperm counts all had an increased risk of at least one type of cancer compared to the general population, but the degree of risk and type of condition varied.

It is unclear why this increased risk occurs, but it may be due to genetic factors or common environmental exposures among relatives. It is hoped that further research will investigate this and lead to tests that identify families at higher risk, Ramsay said.