NEW YORK (Reuters Health) Nov 21 - Males born to mothers with severe gestational hypertension appear to be at reduced risk of germ cell testicular cancer, Swedish and Italian investigators report in the November 1st issue of Cancer Research.
"Our findings suggest that the altered levels of pregnancy hormones that seem to occur in gestational hypertensive disorders are a factor in the causation of testicular cancer," Dr. Andreas Pettersson told Reuters Health.
Because altered levels of pregnancy hormones are theorized to initiate testicular cancer in the male fetus, Dr. Pettersson of the Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, and colleagues analyzed exposure to gestational hypertension in 293 patients diagnosed with testicular cancer at age 15 or younger and in 861 controls.
Subjects exposed to severe gestational hypertension were at markedly lower risk of testicular cancer (odds ratio 0.29) compared to those in whom there was no hypertension exposure. However, subjects who were exposed to mild gestational hypertension were at increased risk (odds ratio, 1.62).
"The mechanism behind the association between pregnancy hypertension and testicular cancer is unclear," the investigators observe, "but our findings may reflect a potentially protective effect of the altered pregnancy hormones such as human chorionic gonadotropin that occur in severe gestational hypertension and preeclampsia."
"Hopefully," added Dr. Pettersson, "a better understanding of the mechanisms that cause testicular cancer can help us identify and eradicate important risk factors, and thereby stop and reverse the increase in testicular cancer occurrence."
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