Prostate cancer 'may be a sexually transmitted disease'

[Jesus Malverde]

Prostate cancer may be a sexually transmitted disease caused by a common yet often silent infection passed on during intercourse, scientists say - but experts say proof is still lacking.

Although several cancers are caused by infections, Cancer Research UK says it is too early to add prostate cancer to this list.

The University of California scientists tested human prostate cells in the lab.

They found a sex infection called trichomoniasis aided cancer growth.

More research is now needed to confirm the link, they say in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).*

snip

Prof Patricia Johnson and colleagues found the parasite that causes trichomoniasis - Trichomonas vaginalis - secretes a protein that causes inflammation and increased growth and invasion of benign and cancerous prostate cells.

Read More: http://www.bbc.com/news/health-27466853

[MADem]

1. Hmmm. That'll cause agita down the line, I'm sure.

I know/knew a pair of teen lovers who married young, and their big story was that they were always true to each other and never, ever deviated. Well, the feller recently died of (guess what) prostate cancer (he was pushing ninety, it wasn't just that but...) and he often lectured his family about the importance of fidelity. The mother/wife was a sweet little thing who was frail for most of her life, I have to wonder if she would have the wherewithal to stray, but she was just one notch away from "Nun."

Of course, if you dig down in the article they qualify the claim:

The PNAS study suggests how the sexually transmitted infection might make men more vulnerable to prostate cancer, although it is not definitive proof of such a link...
"But the research was only done in the lab, and previous evidence in patients failed to show a clear link between prostate cancer and this common sexually transmitted infection.

So for now, I have to rate this article headline as a bit of "BBC Clickbait" even though it references an interesting scientific study!

[bettyellen]

2. isn't that like HPV and women, it can increase chances- but maybe not cause the cancer?