It found that it brought a higher risk of testicular cancer
by 40 percent, melanoma by 29 percent and stomach cancer by 40 percent.
Researchers from Texas suggest a gene that may trigger
crooked penises could also be linked to the development of tumors.
The condition, known as Peyronie’s disease, which is
estimated to affect up to seven percent of males.
The findings were presented at the American Society for
Reproductive Medicine, after a review of patient data of more than 1.5 million
by Baylor College in Houston
The team behind the research said men with Peyronie’s should
be closely monitored for cancer in a bid to catch any development early.
But British said further research was needed to justify
wide-scale routine screening.
Dr Alexander Pastuszak, who led the study, said: ‘While
they’re significant in the sexual and reproductive life-cycles of these
patients, linking them to other disorders suggest that these men should be
monitored for development of these disorders disproportionately in contrast to
the rest of the population.
‘Nobody has made these associations before.’
Genetic links
The researchers carried out further genetic analysis of a
father and son both suffering from Peyronie’s. They discovered they shared a
set of genes understood to predispose people to urological cancers.
‘We found mutations in this father and son couplet in these
types of genes specifically in melanoma, testis, and prostate cancer,’ said Dr
Pastuszak.
Dr Pastuszak said the condition share some similarities with
Dupuytren’s disease, a condition in which one or more fingers become
permanently bent in a flexed position.
They also found links with Ledderhose disease, a thickening
of tissue on the feet.
‘While we still need to validate some of these findings and
translate them from the lab to the clinical population, these data do provide a
strong link both clinically and at the genetic level between PD and Dupuytren’s
– these fibrosing conditions – and malignancies in men,’ he a
According to researchers from the University of
Istanbul, Peyronie’s is believed to affect between 3.7 percent and
7.1 percent of men, ‘but the actual prevalence of the disease may be higher
because of patients’ reluctance to report this embarrassing condition to their
physicians’.
A spokesperson from Cancer Research UK, said: ‘It’s not yet
fully understood what causes Peyronie’s disease and it’s possible it shares
some similar risk factors to cancer.
‘Screening for cancer isn’t always beneficial and comes with
harms, so it’s essential screening programmes are backed by robust evidence.’
