Circumcision After 35 Prevents Development of Prostate Cancer

A latest Montreal study claims that circumcision performed after the age of 35 prevents the risk of prostate cancer later.

Researchers at the University of Montreal in collaboration with the INRS-Institut-Armand-Frappier show that when men are circumcised after the age of 35 they are 45 percent less likely to develop prostate cancer compared to the uncircumcised men.  The findings are based on interviews conducted among 2114 men residing on the Island of Montreal.

Among the study participants half were diagnosed with prostate cancer between 205-2009 and the other half acted as the control group.  The researchers asked questioned about  lifestyle and medical history-whether or not they were circumcised and if they were the age at which the operation was performed.

Among the Jewish or Muslim men, prostate cancer is rare as a majority of them are circumcised.  The specific reason for the occurrence of prostate cancer still remains a mystery but researchers have listed three risk factors that include aging, family history of cancer and Black African Ethnic origins.

Among the participants who were circumcised nearly 11 percent were less likely to develop prostate cancer later, though reduction was not significant statistically. Infants who were circumcised before the age of 1 were 14 percent less likely to develop prostate cancer. Removal of foreskin is known to prevent against aggressive cancer development

There were178 black participants among the study group in which 78 percent were of Haitian origin. The risk of developing prostate cancer among these men was 1.4 times higher than the whites. Over 30 percent of the black men were circumcised compared to 40 percent of the white men.

The researchers were surprised to see that the protective effect of circumcision was high in black man as their risk of developing prostate cancer dropped by 60 percent.

"Unlike the skin that covers our bodies, the inner surface of the foreskin is composed of mostly non-keratinized mucosal epithelium, which is more easily penetrated by microbes that cause infections," research director Marie-Elise Parent explained. "Removing the foreskin could therefore reduce the risk of an infection that might be associated with prostate cancer. In any case, the protective effect of circumcision (in particular the effect observed in the Black population) must be confirmed by other studies, especially in consideration of the relatively few Black men who participated in research."

The study researchers are not sure of the underlying mechanism on how circumcision protects men from prostate cancer.