If you have a penis, you should read this

You might dismiss it as just another harmless expression of body diversity, but men with a curved penis are reportedly far more at risk from cancer.

If you have Peryonie's Disease, where the penis becomes curved when erect due to a build-up of scar tissue, you are also more likely to be at risk from from stomach, skin and testicular cancers.

This is according to a massive study of 1.5 million men.

Also referred to as penile fibrosis, the condition affects around 155,000 men in the UK.

However, this is likely to be something of a conservative estimate, as men are often reluctant to report the problem, which can lead to painful erections and make sex difficult or impossible.

The study found that men with Peyronie's have a:

• 40 per cent higher risk of testicular cancer
• 29 per cent higher risk of melanoma
• 40 per cent high risk of stomach cancer 

There is a genetic link between Peyronie's and some cancers.

Genetic analysis of a father and son suffering from Peyronie's revealed that they share a set of genes known to increase the likelihood of urological cancers.

The team recommends that sufferers be closely monitored so that any cancer can be caught early.

But according to The Telegraph, Emma Shields from Cancer Research UK raised doubts over wide-scale routine screening. She said:

It’s not yet fully understood what causes Peyronie’s disease and it’s possible it shares some similar risk factors to cancer.

Screening for cancer isn’t always beneficial and comes with harms, so it’s essential screening programmes are backed by robust evidence. 

HT IFLS

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