Double Cancer Risk For Tall Men

Tall men face double the risk of developing testicular cancer, according to new research.
Experts found that those over 6ft tall are far more likely to develop the disease than men under 5ft 6ins. And men even shorter were not at risk.
American researchers studied the links between diet, body size and cancer of the testicles, which strikes down 2,000 men in the UK every year.
According to the study, the taller the man, the greater the risk of developing the form of male cancer. Even men between 5ft 6ins and 5ft 9ins increased their risk by 40 per cent.
But researchers admit they are unclear as to the reasons why.
Testicular cancer is one of the few cancers that affects young men, normally hitting 15 to 44-year-olds.
Cycling champion Lance Armstrong, who is 5ft 11ins, was struck down by the disease in 1996, aged 25. But he fought back to win the Tour de France in 1999 for seven consecutive years. The disease is still fairly rare but cases have already doubled since 1985. If diagnosed early, 98 per cent of patients make a full recovery.
Doctors have long suspected cow's milk as one possible cause. But American scientists from the National Cancer Institute in Maryland, say they found no evidence to link consumption of diary products in early childhood with the the disease. Lead researcher Dr Katherine A McGlynn says the study is important in helping understand the disease because it used a large sample of US servicemen under the age of 45.
Dr McGlynn, of the Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, said: "The study suggests that risk of testicular cancer is associated with greater adult height."
Men born with an undescended testicle or with a close relative who has had the disease may also be at greater risk of getting it.
from The Mirror