Severe gestational hypertension may protect against testicular cancer

A recent research at Karolinska Institute in Sweden concluded that women who experience severe gestational hypertension may give birth to boys at lower risk for testicular cancer.

According to a paper published in the November 1, 2008, issue of Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, Andreas Pettersson, M.D., a doctoral student at Karolinska Institute, the exact reason of this protective effect of gestational hypertension are still unclear, but it might be due to the hormones that are released when a placenta malfunctions.

Ironically, a malfunctioning placenta may lower the risk of testicular cancer in male offspring. One possible reason is that estrogens are lower in pregnancies that develop severe gestational hypertension or preeclampsia, and this lack of estrogens may lower the risk of testicular cancer.