Gonorrhoea ups cancer risk

The researchers, who analysed the medical histories of 286 bladder cancer patients, said inflammation caused by gonorrhoea may be the reason for that increased risk, BBC News reported.

"Gonorrhoea is an infection that often recurs, causing local inflammation and symptoms such as incomplete emptying of the bladder," said study lead author Dr Dominique Michaud, assistant professor of epidemiology. "The inflammation itself or the associated symptoms could be contributing to the development of bladder cancer."

"This study strengthens the suspected link between infection with the gonorrhoea bacterium and bladder cancer in men," Professor John Toy, medical director of Cancer Research UK, told BBC News. "The next step is to confirm whether the increased risk could be caused directly by the gonorrhoea infection or its symptoms." – (HealthDayNews)

January 2007