Did you know that how your penis looks can be an indicator of whether you have a greater risk of developing cancer? Researchers who were part of a study of 1.5 million men have found there is a link between penis shape and cancer risk.
At Baylor College of Medicine in Texas, researchers reported that men who had a curved penis, which results from the accumulation of scar tissue in the penis, have a significantly greater chance of developing several types of cancer. Such a condition is known as Peyronie’s disease, which is believed to affect between 0.5 and 13 percent of men in the United States, according to the Urology Department of Weill Cornell Medical College.
In Peyronie’s disease, the buildup of plaque in the penis causes painful erections, a curved penis (which can range from mild to severe), and sexual function that is difficult to impossible. This latest study adds a greater risk of cancer to the list.
According to the authors of the study, Peyronie’s disease raises the risk of developing stomach and testicular cancer by 40 percent while increasing the risk of skin cancer (melanoma) by 29 percent. Dr. Alexander Pastuszak, who headed the study, also explained there could be a genetic connection between Peyronie’s disease and the development of cancer in some men. He made this announcement based on a finding during a genetic analysis of a patient and his father, both of whom had fibrosis of the penis as well as genes that boosted their risk of stomach and testicular cancers along with melanoma.
The discoveries made in this study highlight the need for healthcare professionals to be alert to the possibility of increased cancer risk among with with a bent penis. One challenge that faces clinicians is that some men are reluctant to report the presence of a bent penis to their doctor, which means there may be many more men with Peyronie’s disease than have been recorded. As a consequence, significantly more men may be at risk for developing cancers and are undetected.
Reference
IFL Science. Study of 1.5 million men finds link between penis shape and cancer risk