Friday July 25, 2014 (foodconsumer.org) -- A new meta-analysis of data from 47 previous studies published between 1971 and 2011 shows that men who contracted any sexually transmitted infections were at 49% increased risk for prostate cancer.

Sexually transmitted infections considered in the review include "Neisseria gonorrheae, Treponema pallidum, Chlamydia trachomatis, Trichomonas vaginalis, Ureaplasma urealyticum, Mycoplasma hominis, Herpes Simplex Virus types 1 and 2, Human Herpes Virus 8 and Cytomegalovirus."

Researchers found gonorrhoea associated with significantly increased risk of prostate cancer, but no other sexually transmitted infections were individually associated with significantly increased risk for prostate cancer.

Sexually transmitted diseases and prostate cancer are extremely common worldwide; prevention of sexually transmitted infections may help prevent a considerable number of prostate cancer cases worldwide.  (David Liu)

Reference: Saverio Cainia, Sara Gandinib, Maria Dudasc, Viviane Bremerd, Ettore Severie, Alin Gherasimf, Sexually transmitted infections and prostate cancer risk: A systematic review and meta-analysis, Cancer Epidemiology, Volume 38, Issue 4, August 2014, Pages 329–338