Regular sex is not prostate cancer prevention — Urologist cautions

Dr John Nana Nkrumah, Urologist and Senior Specialist at the GPHA Clinic and International Maritime Hospital, has cautioned against treating frequent sexual activity as a prescribed way of preventing prostate cancer.

 Dr Nkrumah said although research had examined a possible association between ejaculation and prostate cancer, the findings did not provide sufficient basis to recommend a specific frequency of sexual activity as protection against the disease.

 Speaking at a media discussion on prostate cancer awareness powered by the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA), he explained that research had examined different forms of ejaculation, including sexual intercourse, masturbation and wet dreams.

He said the study's findings had to be considered alongside other risk factors and its methodology, rather than interpreted as a prescription for a particular number of ejaculations.

He stated that it would therefore be inappropriate to tell men, particularly young people, that they needed to ejaculate a specified number of times each month to prevent prostate cancer.

Dr Nkrumah also noted that wet dreams were involuntary, making them impossible to regulate as a preventive measure.

He said the research findings could be acknowledged, but there were limitations that prevented him from recommending the practice as a prostate cancer prevention strategy.

The discussion also raised the question of men whose professions or religious commitments involved celibacy.

He maintained that the available findings did not support the conclusion that men who did not engage in regular sexual activity would necessarily develop prostate cancer.

He therefore urged men instead, to focus on established screening and risk factors and to seek medical advice early.

Touching on treatment and sexual potency, explained that some treatments for advanced prostate cancer could affect men's sexual potency.

The urologist said the effect was associated particularly with treatments that reduce testosterone levels as part of efforts to control advanced or metastatic disease.

Dr Nkrumah said some concerns about the potential of some men becoming impotent when on treatment were valid, explaining that when prostate cancer became advanced or metastatic, some treatment approaches targeted testosterone, a male hormone associated with the progression of the disease.

He said testosterone production could be reduced medically or surgically, adding that surgical treatment could involve removal of the testicles, while medical treatment could also be used to reduce testosterone levels.

He explained that lowering testosterone could consequently reduce sexual drive and affect sexual potency.

The urologist said the side effects of treatment for advanced prostate cancer could also affect a patient's quality of life and therefore stressed the importance of detecting the disease early, when treatment could have better prospects of curing it and avoiding progression to advanced disease.

GNA