SAN PAULO, Brazil -- New research shows that having sex with animal could increase a man's risk for penile cancer.
The authors found that men who have had sex with animals were twice as likely to develop penile cancer as those who stick with their own kind.
Lead author Stenio de Cassio Zequi, a urologist in Sao Paulo, used questionnaires to study 492 men from rural Brazil.
He found that 35 percent of study participants, who ranged from 18 to 80 years old, reported having sex with animals 'SWA' in their lifetimes, according to a new study published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine.
Of the 118 penile cancer patients, 45 percent acknowledged having SWA' sex with animals, compared to including 31.6 percent of the healthy men.
The study found no association between penile cancer and the number of animals the men had "used," according to LiveScience.com.
Nor was there any link between penile cancer and the species of the animals, which included mares, pigs, chickens, and cows.
The research - published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine - didn't prove that 'SWA' with animals causes penile cancer, only that it was associated with the malignancy.
The study's lead author suggested that abrasions of the penis sustained during SWA might explain the link.
Additionally, men who had sex with animals also reported a higher incidence of sexually transmitted diseases.
The authors found that men who have had sex with animals were twice as likely to develop penile cancer as those who stick with their own kind.
He found that 35 percent of study participants, who ranged from 18 to 80 years old, reported having sex with animals 'SWA' in their lifetimes, according to a new study published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine.
Of the 118 penile cancer patients, 45 percent acknowledged having SWA' sex with animals, compared to including 31.6 percent of the healthy men.
The study found no association between penile cancer and the number of animals the men had "used," according to LiveScience.com.
Nor was there any link between penile cancer and the species of the animals, which included mares, pigs, chickens, and cows.
The research - published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine - didn't prove that 'SWA' with animals causes penile cancer, only that it was associated with the malignancy.
The study's lead author suggested that abrasions of the penis sustained during SWA might explain the link.
Additionally, men who had sex with animals also reported a higher incidence of sexually transmitted diseases.
