Scott Roberts and Linda Searing, ScoutNews, report via DrKoop.com:

The more often young and middle-age men ejaculate, the less likely they are to develop prostate cancer, Australian researchers report in the journal New Scientist.

The Cancer Council Victoria in Melbourne asked 1,079 men with prostate cancer to answer a survey describing their sexual habits, comparing those answers with 1,259 healthy men of the same ages.

Although the preventive effect held true for men between the ages of 20 and 50, the effect seemed greatest among men in their twenties, the researchers conclude. Those in their twenties who ejaculated more than five times a week were one-third less likely to develop aggressive prostate cancer later in life, they say.

The latest findings appear to contradict previous studies, which found that having many sexual partners or a high frequency of sexual activity increased the risk of prostate cancer by up to 40 percent.

The Australian researchers have a simple explanation: “Men have many ways of using their prostate which don’t involve women or other men,” explains the study’s lead author, Graham Giles.

The scientists speculate that ejaculation prevents carcinogenic substances from building up in the prostate, lowering a man’s risk of cancer.

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Last updated 7/17/2003