Gay men are more likely to have anal cancer
May 10, 2011.- A U.S. investigation found that “Gay men have a higher prevalence of cancer than heterosexual men.“
The study involved over 122 000 people in California, and also it was found that lesbians and bisexual women have a poorer health after suffering from the disease than heterosexual women.”
The Journal of the American Cancer Society published the study and analyzed data from the California Health Surveys 2001, 2003 and 2005, in which 3,690 men and 7,252 women reported having been diagnosed with cancer at some point in their life.
From the 122,345 respondents 1,493 men and 918 women described themselves as homosexual, while 1,115 women reported being bisexual.
It was found that homosexual men were twice as likely as heterosexuals to have been diagnosed with cancer.
And, on average, the disease had occurred in the previous decade.
Among women there was no such link.
The researchers speculate that “the difference in the numbers of cancer survivors may be due to a higher rate of anal cancer in gay men or HIV infection, which has been linked to the disease.”
Clinical director of HIV and sexual health of the UK’s Terrence Higgins Trust Jason Warriner said: “We know that HIV can cause certain types of cancer, and that homosexuals are at greater risk of virus infection than heterosexuals.”
“Another factor which could potentially have an impact is the human papilloma virus (HPV), which can lead to anal cancer in homosexual men.”
Jason Warriner says that “we believe that recent figures on oral and anal cancer justify reconsider whether protection programs should be extended to include also children.”
Related News
