27 October,2010 03:42 PM IST | | Agencies
U.S experts have revealed that taller men may have a higher risk of getting testicular cancer.
After examining data on more than 10,000 men, researchers discovered that for every extra two inches or 5cm in height above average, the risk went up by 13 pc.
However, National Cancer Institute researchers still do not understand how increased height raises a man''s risk of testicular cancer.
Other factors, like family history, carry more of a risk, they told the British Journal of Cancer.
The data the US team analysed came from 13 different studies investigating testicular cancer.
All of these studies, spanning the last decade, included both figures on the cancer''s incidence and height records of the men involved.
Dr Michael Blaise Cook and his team looked at the data to see if cancer risk might tally with height and weight measurements.u00a0
They found no link between body weight and the cancer but a trend emerged with height, with taller men at increased risk of testicular cancer.
"Tall men should not be alarmed by this research since fewer than four in 100 testicular lumps are actually cancerous," the BBC quoted Sara Hiom, director of health information at Cancer Research UK, as saying.u00a0u00a0
"But it is still important for men to be aware of any changes to the size and weight of their testicles and not delay seeing their GP if they are concerned. This is particularly true for young men as the disease is more common with under-35 year olds.
"The outlook for testicular cancer is also one of the best for all cancers - even after the disease has spread, patients can be cured," Hiom added.
