Vasectomy and Risk of Prostate Cancer

Holt, Sarah K. and Salinas, Claudia A. and Stanford, Janet L. (2008) Vasectomy and Risk of Prostate Cancer. The Journal of Urology , 180 (6). pp. 2565-2567. ISSN 0022-5347 (In Press)

Abstract

Purpose: While the weight of evidence shows no association overall between vasectomy and prostate cancer, there has been some suggestion that an association may exist in subgroups such as men who have a family history of prostate cancer, men who undergo vasectomy at younger ages, or when several decades have passed since the procedure. Studies examining risk with long latency periods have been hampered by small sample sizes within subgroups since vasectomy only became widely used in the 1960s and generally, prostate cancer has a long latency period. Materials and Methods: We analyzed data from a recent population-based case-control study that was designed specifically to address this issue of risk within subgroups. Interviews were completed for 1,001 men diagnosed with prostate cancer from January 1, 2002 through December 31, 2005 in the Seattle-Puget Sound Region and 942 matched control men. Subjects were African-American and Caucasian men between the ages of 35 and 74. Data were analyzed using unconditional logistic regression to calculate odds ratios as estimates of the relative risk of prostate cancer associated with various parameters of vasectomy. Results: The prevalence of vasectomy was similar in the cases (36.2%) and controls (36.1%) with an adjusted odds ratio of 1.0 (95% CI 0.8-1.2). There were also no associations observed between prostate cancer and age at vasectomy, years elapsed since vasectomy, or calendar year of vasectomy. Conclusions: These findings indicate there is no association between vasectomy and risk of prostate cancer.

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