How often should you have sex per month to reduce prostate cancer?

A new review of studies dating back 30 years has shed light on the relationship between the number of times men have sex or masturbate and their risk of developing prostate cancer.

The review found that the more often men had sex, the less likely they were to develop prostate cancer.

Men should have sex 21 times a month to reduce their risk of developing the disease by a third, the research team said, citing a study by Harvard Medical School (the most promising study in the review).

The review, published in the journal Clinical Genitourinary Cancer, included about 11 studies involving nearly 150,000 participants, ranging in age from 20 to 80 years.

All studies, conducted between 1990 and 2023, examined the potential association between sex and prostate cancer.

The most recent study included in the review, published last year in The World Journal of Men's Health, focused on men between the ages of 40 and 80.

Researchers found that men who had sex at least 4 times a month had a lower risk of developing prostate cancer than those who did so less frequently.

A 2016 Boston University study found that frequent ejaculation stimulates changes in prostate tissue that cause cells to be produced more quickly, and increases the rate of a compound that has been shown to kill prostate cancer cells.

Although the exact mechanism of this relationship is not well understood, experts believe that increased blood flow to the prostate may help flush carcinogens from semen.

The increased blood flow that results from sex provides oxygen and vital nutrients that help remove cancer-related waste products. 

“The emerging association between sexual frequency and prostate health underscores the importance of incorporating sexual behavior into patient counseling and health care strategies,” the researchers wrote.

It is worth noting that men over the age of 65 are most susceptible to prostate cancer.