A new Swedish study has uncovered a significant link between male infertility and an elevated risk of developing colon and thyroid cancer. Researchers from Lund University analyzed data from more than 1.1 million men who became fathers between 1994 and 2014. Among them, 14,540 men used intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), a specialized assisted reproduction technique for severe male infertility.
Key Findings
The study cross-referenced these cases with the national cancer registry and found that men who conceived via ICSI faced nearly double the risk of colorectal cancer and triple the risk of thyroid cancer compared to men who fathered children naturally. Michael Kitlinski, a medical student and research participant at Lund University, stated, 'They were found to have almost twice the risk of developing colorectal cancer and three times the risk of thyroid cancer.'
Not Caused by Treatment
Researchers emphasized that the fertility treatment itself is not the cause of the increased cancer risk. The study noted that this risk was absent among men who conceived using standard IVF, which in Sweden is typically used for female infertility. The absolute cancer risk remains low among men aged 30 to 35, but the relative increase is noteworthy.
Recommendations for Screening
The study suggests that men with severe infertility may benefit from earlier colorectal cancer screening. 'These results represent an additional argument for considering initiation of disease-preventing measures in men seeking health care due to fertility problems,' the researchers wrote. They recommend lowering the age for colorectal cancer screening in this group, particularly in countries with existing screening programs.
Previous research has also linked lower male fertility to higher risks of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, metabolic disorders, and cancers of reproductive organs. The findings were published in the European Journal of Epidemiology.
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