The study analyzed 431 prostate cancer patients, all who had been diagnosed with the disease before the age of 60, as well as 409 controls with no signs of prostate cancer. Comprehensive questioning was administered to all these patients, focused on their sexual behaviors after 20 years of age. Frequency of masturbation, sex, number of partners, and associated medical complications (such as the contraction of a sexually transmitted disease), were of focus during the questioning.

 

Researchers found that generally, the prostate cancer group had more sexual partners during their lives, and consistently had higher sexual activity levels (which includes intercourse and masturbation), as well as higher incidence of STD's. More specifically, some of the main statistics found in the study are as follows; 39% of the men with prostate cancer had six or more female partners in their lives, as opposed to 31% of the control group; 40% of prostate patients fell into the highest, 20 ejaculations per month or more, sexual activity group, in their twenties, as opposed to 32% of the men without prostate cancer (this trend persisted in their thirties as well, but fell off in their forties, and became negligible in their fifties); The men in the prostate cancer group were shown to have much higher frequencies of masturbation throughout their lives, especially in their twenties (34% in the highest group, as opposed to 24% of controls), and thirties (41% vs. 31% of controls). The final trend mentioned, concerning masturbation, interestingly not only fell off in the participants forties, but men in the control group masturbated slightly more frequently in their fifties than the men with prostate cancer (26% to 25%, concerning "frequent" masturbation for men in their fifties), suggesting a potential health benefit.

These results cannot be considered conclusive, and in fact conflict with some previous research that suggested sexual activity might help prevent against prostate cancer. These past studies, however, were less thorough, and not age-specific, making the conclusion of the current study, that high sexual activity in one's twenties and thirties increases risk of prostate cancer, less contestable. Says lead author, Dr. Polyxeni Dimitropoulou, "what makes our study stand out from previous research is that we focused on a younger age group than normal and included both intercourse and masturbation at various stages in the participants' lives. Overall we found a significant association between prostate cancer and sexual activity in a man's twenties and between masturbation and prostate cancer in the twenties and thirties." Dr. Dimitropoulou further speculates as to why men in their fifties benefit from masturbation; "A possible explanation for the protective effect that men in their fifties appear to receive from overall sexual activity, and particularly masturbation, is that the release of accumulated toxins during sexual activity reduces the risk of developing cancer in the prostate area. This theory has, however, not been firmly established and further research is necessary."