How damaged is your genetic sheet metal?
Imaging parking your car at home after work and all the nicks and scratches are removed while you sleep, before heading to work the next day. All shiny and new, polished even, while you sleep. Believe it or not, this is normally what happens to your genes and chromosomes on a minute-to-minute basis. DNA mismatch repair is a constant and vigilant process, occurring in all cells of the body. Why the biologic vigilance? Well, It keeps us whole, healthy and cancer free.
About 11 years ago, we published a paper showing for the first time that infertile men can’t repair the errors normally encountered in their DNA as well as normal men. This was startling news in part because it implied that infertile men may be more likely to develop other problems later in life, including cancer. Why cancer? Because the development of cancer has been associated with the inability to normally repair the frequent daily errors that occur to one’s DNA as the body’s cells divide and renew.
Today, however, we know much more. We know that testis cancer is 3-fold more likely to occur in previously infertile men than in fertile men as they age. And our latest research has shown that prostate cancer, thought to be a disease exclusive to older men, occurs more seriously and more commonly in previously infertile men.
So what does this mean? Is male infertility the first sign of a larger problem in our species? It is the ultimate medical problem of a species trying to reproduce? Well, honestly it isn’t entirely clear. However, to me it indicates that male infertility should certainly be considered an insurable and real medical condition that should be taken as seriously as a heart attack. Even more worrisome is the issue of whether the use of sperm from severely infertile men is putting their offspring at even higher risk of medical issues than that experienced by their fathers.
So do not ignore the infertility issue when it strikes and get that male partner evaluated by a specialist. Teach him to perform testicular self-examination, a simple maneuver performed once monthly in the shower that has far more potential to extend his life than even exercising or weight control. Educate him about prostate cancer so that he does not ignore the powerful screening tools available to find it early. The age of innocence is over. The warning signs are now clear; get men the care that they deserve.
Tags: cancer, evolution, genetics, male infertility, men's health, prostate cancer, reproduction, sexual health, sperm, sperm count, testis cancer
I don’t know if you answer questions here – and obviously you can’t give specific advice. I got here from the NYT article…my husband and I had trouble conceiving and he was evaluated for male factor infertility; he turned out to have tail-bound anti-sperm antibodies. But shortly after the evaluation we conceived without assistance and have a lovely almost-6-year-old. Does the cause of the infertility matter to the increased risk factors? Is that considered severe infertility?
And then I’ve seen lots of information lately saying men are over-tested for early prostate cancer. It’s all very confusing. Any further detail on your findings, for the layperson, would be welcome.
Well, the New York Times has followed suite here and I congratulate them for recognizing the issues brought up in our recent publication about prostate cancer and infertilility. Read more at:
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/03/23/male-infertility-linked-with-prostate-cancer/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=ping.fm&utm_campaign=Healthwise
Good quetions. My guess is that it is likely that the cause of male infertility matters. Men in the testis cancer and prostate cancer studies were classified only by ejaculated sperm concentration; either low or zero. We were not able to drill down any deeper to subclassify risks based on the many different causes of male infertility.
In addition, these results are likely not biased by “over testing” (detection bias) for early prostate cancer, as the rate of prostate cancer observed was similar in male factor and non-male factor infertility. It’s just that the male factor patients had worse forms of prostate cancer. Hope that helps.
I don’t know about that. I’m not sure I agree with your ideas. I’ll just agree to disagree. Thanks…for the post.
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