Increased Risk of Cancer in Infertile Men: Analysis of U.S. Claims Data

No AccessJournal of UrologyAdult Urology1 May 2015Increased Risk of Cancer in Infertile Men: Analysis of U.S. Claims Data Michael L. Eisenberg, Shufeng Li, James D. Brooks, Mark R. Cullen, and Laurence C. Baker Michael L. EisenbergMichael L. Eisenberg Department of Urology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California Department of Obstetrics/Gynecology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California Financial interest and/or other relationship with Sandstone Diagnostics and Reprovantage. More articles by this author , Shufeng LiShufeng Li Departments of Urology and Dermatology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California Nothing to disclose. More articles by this author , James D. BrooksJames D. Brooks Department of Urology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California Nothing to disclose. More articles by this author , Mark R. CullenMark R. Cullen Department of Internal Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California Nothing to disclose. More articles by this author , and Laurence C. BakerLaurence C. Baker Department of Health Research and Policy, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California Financial interest and/or other relationship with the American Hospital Association, Kaiser Permanente and National Institute for Health Care Management. More articles by this author View All Author Informationhttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.juro.2014.11.080AboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints ShareFacebookLinked InTwitterEmail Abstract Purpose: Aberrations in reproductive fitness may be a harbinger of medical diseases in men. Data suggest a higher risk of testicular cancer in infertile men. However, the relationship between infertility and other cancers remains uncertain. Materials and Methods: We analyzed subjects from the Truven Health MarketScan® claims database from 2001 to 2009. Infertile men were identified through diagnosis and treatment codes. Comparison groups were created of men who underwent vasectomy and a control cohort of men who were not infertile and had not undergone vasectomy. The incidence of cancer was compared to national U.S. estimates. Infertile men were also compared to men who underwent vasectomy and the control cohort using a Cox regression model. Results: A total of 76,083 infertile men were identified with an average age of 35.1 years. Overall 112,655 men who underwent vasectomy and 760,830 control men were assembled. Compared to age adjusted national averages, infertile, vasectomy and control subjects in the study cohorts had higher rates of all cancers and many individual cancers. In time to event analysis, infertile men had a higher risk of cancer than those who underwent vasectomy or controls. Infertile men had a higher risk of testis cancer, nonHodgkin lymphoma and all cancers than the vasectomy and control groups. Conclusions: Consistent with prior reports, we identified an increased risk of testicular cancer in infertile men. The current data also suggest that infertile men are at an increased risk of all cancers in the years after infertility evaluation. Future research should focus on confirming these associations and elucidating pathways between infertility and cancer. References 1 : Risk of testicular cancer in subfertile men: case-control study. BMJ1999; 318: 559. Google Scholar 2 : Risk of testicular cancer in men with abnormal semen characteristics: cohort study. BMJ2000; 321: 789. Google Scholar 3 : Increased risk of testicular germ cell cancer among infertile men. Arch Intern Med2009; 169: 351. Google Scholar 4 : Increased risk of high-grade prostate cancer among infertile men. Cancer2010; 116: 2140. 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Google Scholar © 2015 by American Urological Association Education and Research, Inc.FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsCited byNiederberger C (2020) Re: Male Infertility and Future Cardiometabolic Health: Does the Association Vary by Sociodemographic Factors?Journal of Urology, VOL. 203, NO. 5, (866-867), Online publication date: 1-May-2020.Niederberger C (2019) Re: Undiagnosed Prediabetes is Highly Prevalent in Primary Infertile Men—Results from a Cross-Sectional StudyJournal of Urology, VOL. 203, NO. 3, (449-449), Online publication date: 1-Mar-2020.Balasubramanian A, Yu J, Thirumavalavan N, Lipshultz L, Hotaling J and Pastuszak A (2019) Analyzing Online Twitter Discussion for Male Infertility via the Hashtag #MaleInfertilityUrology Practice, VOL. 7, NO. 1, (68-74), Online publication date: 1-Jan-2020.Balasubramanian A, Zhang C, Spradling K and Eisenberg M (2019) The Most Common Reasons for Health Care Provider Visits in Reproductive Aged Men Differ by Race and Age StratificationUrology Practice, VOL. 7, NO. 3, (194-198), Online publication date: 1-May-2020.Niederberger C (2018) Re: Genetic Intersection of Male Infertility and CancerJournal of Urology, VOL. 200, NO. 2, (229-230), Online publication date: 1-Aug-2018.Niederberger C (2018) Re: Subfertility Increases Risk of Testicular Cancer: Evidence from Population-Based Semen SamplesJournal of Urology, VOL. 196, NO. 2, (522-524), Online publication date: 1-Aug-2016. Volume 193Issue 5May 2015Page: 1596-1601Supplementary Materials Advertisement Copyright & Permissions© 2015 by American Urological Association Education and Research, Inc.KeywordsmaleinfertilityneoplasmsfertilityMetricsAuthor Information Michael L. Eisenberg Department of Urology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California Department of Obstetrics/Gynecology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California Financial interest and/or other relationship with Sandstone Diagnostics and Reprovantage. More articles by this author Shufeng Li Departments of Urology and Dermatology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California Nothing to disclose. More articles by this author James D. Brooks Department of Urology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California Nothing to disclose. More articles by this author Mark R. Cullen Department of Internal Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California Nothing to disclose. More articles by this author Laurence C. Baker Department of Health Research and Policy, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California Financial interest and/or other relationship with the American Hospital Association, Kaiser Permanente and National Institute for Health Care Management. More articles by this author Expand All Advertisement PDF downloadLoading ...