Jonathan Shoag

MD

NA

Resident Physician

PLCO (Learn more about this study)

PLCO-144

Jun 2, 2015

Vasectomy and prostate cancer risk

There is longstanding controversy as to the relationship between vasectomy and prostate cancer. The Prostate Cancer Screening arm of the PLCO trial would allow us to examine this relationship. PLCO contains data on vasectomy status of participants as well as detailed information on prostate cancer detection, stage, and mortality. We would like to examine the relationship between vasectomy and prostate cancer in the PLCO cancer screening trial.

Use of the PLCO cancer screening trial provides several advantages over previous studies. The major criticism of other studies on the topic is confounding, largely in the form of detection bias. The presence of a dedicated screening arm, as well as detailed information on how prostate cancer was detected allows us to limit this bias. Furthermore detailed information on prostate cancer stage, grade, and clinical course allows us to examined the clinical significance of this relationship not possible with other trials The PLCO cancer screening trial would also provide one of the largest cohorts examining prostate cancer risk ad vasectomy in the literature.

Determining whether this relationship does indeed exist, and understanding the nuances of this relationship, will allow us to better counsel patients undergoing vasectomy and understand prostate cancer epidemiology and biology.