PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Study finds testicular cancer link for muscle-building supplements

2015-04-13
(Press-News.org) PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] -- Men who reported taking muscle-building supplements, such as pills and powders with creatine or androstenedione, reported a significantly higher likelihood of having developed testicular cancer than men who did not use such supplements, according to a new study in the British Journal of Cancer.

Moreover, said study senior author Tongzhang Zheng, the associated testicular germ cell cancer risk was especially high among men who started using supplements before age 25, those who used multiple supplements and those who used them for years.

"The observed relationship was strong," said Zheng, who led the study at Yale University before joining the Brown University School of Public Health as a professor of epidemiology. "If you used at earlier age, you had a higher risk. If you used them longer, you had a higher risk. If you used multiple types, you had a higher risk."

Testicular cancer incidence rose to 5.9 cases per 100,000 men in 2011, from 3.7 cases in 100,000 in 1975, Zheng said. Researchers aren't sure why.

"Testicular cancer is a very mysterious cancer," he said. "None of the factors we've suspected can explain the increase."

The study is the first analytical epidemiological study of the possible link between supplements and testicular cancer, the authors wrote in the journal. The work was inspired by mounting evidence that that at least some supplement ingredients may damage the testes.

"Our study found that supplement use was related to a higher risk of developing testicular cancer. These results are important because there are few identified modifiable risk factors for testicular cancer," said Russ Hauser, professor of environmental health science at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and a main collaborator of the research.

Testing the odds

To conduct the study, Zheng's research team conducted detailed interviews of nearly 900 men from Massachusetts and Connecticut -- 356 of whom had been diagnosed with testicular germ cell cancer, and 513 who had not. In the interviews, researchers asked the men not only about their supplement use but also about a wide variety of other possible factors such as smoking, drinking, exercise habits, family history of testicular cancer, and prior injury to their testes or groin.

After tallying their data and accounting for all those possible confounders, as well as age, race, and other demographics, the researchers found that the men who used supplements had a 1.65 odds ratio (a 65 percent greater risk) of having developed testicular cancer compared to the men who did not use supplements.

The researchers defined "use" as consuming one or more supplements at least once a week for four consecutive weeks or more.

The odds ratios increased to 2.77 (a 177 percent greater risk) among men who used more than one kind of supplement, and to 2.56 among men who used supplements three years or longer. Men who started using supplements at age 25 or younger also had an elevated associated odds ratio of 2.21, the researchers calculated.

"Considering the magnitude of the association and the observed dose-response trends, muscle-building supplements use may be an important and modifiable exposure that could have important scientific and clinical importance for preventing testicular germ cell cancer development if this association is confirmed by future studies," the authors conclude in the study.

Future large epidemiologic studies and lab experiments would be necessary to establish a causal link between supplements and testicular cancer.

INFORMATION:

The study's lead author is Ni Li of Yale University and the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences. Other authors are Pat Morey of Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health; Theodore R. Holford, Yong Zhu, Yawei Zhang, Bryan A. Bassig, Stan Honig, and Helen Sayward of Yale; Chu Chen and Stephen Schwarz of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center; Peter Boyle of the International Prevention and Research Institute in Lyon, France; Zhibin Hu and Hongbin Shen of Nanjing Medical University; and Pable Gomery of Massachusetts General Hospital.

The U.S. National Institutes of Health, the National Natural Science Foundation of China, The Beijing Natural Science Foundation, and the Beijing Nova Program supported the research.



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

New technology provides superior ability to rapidly detect volatile organic compounds

New technology provides superior ability to rapidly detect volatile organic compounds
2015-04-13
Over the past several decades, the progress in micro fabrication technology has revolutionized the world in such fields as computing, signal processing, and automotive manufacturing. Making various types of instruments smaller is another example of how the use of this technology has produced significant advancements. One such instrument is the gas chromatography system used in a number of scientific, medical, and industrial settings to separate and analyze dangerous, volatile organic compounds in gases, liquids, and solids. For the past several years, Masoud Agah, an ...

What's in your wine? New study reveals how production methods affect color and taste of pinot noir

2015-04-13
Amsterdam, April 13, 2015 - The taste and color of your wine depends on the methods used to produce it and the chemicals added during production, says research published in Analytical Chemistry Research. The researchers behind the study say wine bottles should carry information about what the manufacturers add during processing - including sugars and acids. In the study, Dr. Heli Sirén and her colleagues from the University of Helsinki, Finland, analyzed the chemical profiles of eight Pinot Noir wines from different regions - the USA, France, New Zealand and Chile. ...

VTT printed a morphine test on paper

VTT printed a morphine test on paper
2015-04-13
VTT is the first in the world to have developed a drug test printed on paper. VTT used antibodies - produced by methods of molecular biology - as morphine sensing molecules when creating this printing technology-based morphine test. Using printing technology to manufacture rapid tests enables high production volumes and low production costs. A paper-based test enables a rapid analysis of whether a compound - in this case, morphine - is present in a given sample. Possible future applications of the developed test include drug testing at workplaces and in connection with ...

Penn Medicine pain management study reveals patient confusion about opioid addiction

2015-04-13
PHILADELPHIA - Emergency department patients have misperceptions about opioid dependence and want more information about their pain management options, according to a new study from researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. The study, published online in the Annals of Emergency Medicine, found that patients seen in the emergency department for acute pain expressed a desire for better communication from physicians about their pain management options, along with discussion of the risks of opioid dependence. The study used semi-structured ...

Neurophotonics celebrates advances, pioneering research in voltage-sensitive dye imaging

2015-04-13
BELLINGHAM, Washington, USA - The latest issue of the journal Neurophotonics features a tribute to the brilliance and originality of Lawrence (Larry) Cohen as well as reports on the latest advances in voltage-sensitive dyes and multiple-site optical recording methods enabled by the work of Cohen and his team. Their research has paved the way for advances in functional imaging of the electrical activity of live tissue in real time, say journal editors. Neurophotonics is published by SPIE, the international society for optics and photonics. All articles in the journal are ...

Is the length of work careers determined in utero?

2015-04-13
Low weight at birth increased the risk of disability pension among men, reveals a new Finnish study published in the PLoS One. Around 20% of the cohort members born in 1934-44 retired on a disability pension between 1971 and 2011. Early exit from the workforce due to a disability pension might be related to non-optimal growth during the fetal period, says Docent Mikaela von Bonsdorff from the University of Jyväskylä. The leading causes of disability pension are mental disorders, musculoskeletal disorders and cardiovascular diseases. Low birth weight was ...

Pulmonary emphysema: Novel neutrophil elastase isoform discovered

2015-04-13
Neuherberg, March 13, 2015. Elastases of white blood cells are involved in tissue destruction and can thus cause various diseases. Scientists from the Helmholtz Zentrum München have discovered a new isoform which could be involved both in the pathogenesis of diseases such as pulmonary emphysema as well as in the failure of some therapy approaches. The results of the study have just been published in the journal Nature Communications. A delicate balance of elastases and elastase inhibitors provides for regular tissue formation and destruction in the body. A perturbation ...

Your pain reliever may also be diminishing your joy

2015-04-13
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Researchers studying the commonly used pain reliever acetaminophen found it has a previously unknown side effect: It blunts positive emotions. In the study, participants who took acetaminophen reported less strong emotions when they saw both very pleasant and very disturbing photos, when compared to those who took placebos. Acetaminophen, the main ingredient in the over-the-counter pain reliever Tylenol, has been in use for more than 70 years in the United States, but this is the first time that this side effect has been documented. Previous research ...

Did Richard III manage to keep his scoliosis a secret up until his death in 1485?

2015-04-13
Richard III may have kept his severe scoliosis hidden until death Body of a king part of propaganda of power 'Crookback Richard' myth and the treatment of his corpse linked Last month saw the mortal remains of King Richard III reinterred at Leicester Cathedral, more than two years after University of Leicester archaeologists discovered his skeleton in a car park in August 2012. The body of a mediaeval monarch was always under scrutiny, and Richard III's was no exception. In death, however, his body became subject to new forms of examination and interpretation: stripped ...

New evidence for how green tea and apples could protect health

New evidence for how green tea and apples could protect health
2015-04-13
Scientists from the Institute of Food Research have found evidence for a mechanism by which certain food compounds could help protect our health. Dietary studies have shown that people who eat the largest amounts of fruit and vegetables have a reduced risk of developing chronic conditions, such as heart disease and cancer. There could be several reasons for this. Some fruit and vegetables naturally contain high amounts of compounds called polyphenols, which could provide protective health benefits. In this study, Dr Paul Kroon and his team at IFR have shown that polyphenols ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Exercise as an anti-ageing intervention to avoid detrimental impact of mental fatigue

UMass Amherst Nursing Professor Emerita honored as ‘Living Legend’

New guidelines aim to improve cystic fibrosis screening

Picky eaters by day, buffet by night: Butterfly, moth diets sync to plant aromas

Pennington Biomedical’s Dr. Leanne Redman honored with the E. V. McCollum Award from the American Society for Nutrition

CCNY physicists uncover electronic interactions mediated via spin waves

Researchers’ 3D-printing formula may transform future of foam

Nurture more important than nature for robotic hand

Drug-delivering aptamers target leukemia stem cells for one-two knockout punch

New study finds that over 95% of sponsored influencer posts on Twitter were not disclosed

New sea grant report helps great lakes fish farmers navigate aquaculture regulations

Strain “trick” improves perovskite solar cells’ efficiency

How GPS helps older drivers stay on the roads

Estrogen and progesterone stimulate the body to make opioids

Dancing with the cells – how acoustically levitating a diamond led to a breakthrough in biotech automation

Machine learning helps construct an evolutionary timeline of bacteria

Cellular regulator of mRNA vaccine revealed... offering new therapeutic options

Animal behavioral diversity at risk in the face of declining biodiversity

Finding their way: GPS ignites independence in older adult drivers

Antibiotic resistance among key bacterial species plateaus over time

‘Some insects are declining but what’s happening to the other 99%?’

Powerful new software platform could reshape biomedical research by making data analysis more accessible

Revealing capillaries and cells in living organs with ultrasound

American College of Physicians awards $260,000 in grants to address equity challenges in obesity care

Researchers from MARE ULisboa discover that the European catfish, an invasive species in Portugal, has a prolonged breeding season, enhancing its invasive potential

Rakesh K. Jain, PhD, FAACR, honored with the 2025 AACR Award for Lifetime Achievement in Cancer Research

Solar cells made of moon dust could power future space exploration

Deporting immigrants may further shrink the health care workforce

Border region emergency medical services in migrant emergency care

Resident physician intentions regarding unionization

[Press-News.org] Study finds testicular cancer link for muscle-building supplements