Rectal cancer gay men

Cancer Risks for Lgbtq+ and Bisexual Men

Gay and pansexual men are at higher risk for certain kinds of cancer. The cancers you should understand about are covered here. There are things you can do to serve lower your peril for many of these cancers. You may even be able to hold them from ever starting.

Gender words are used here to talk about anatomy and health risk. Please utilize this information in a way that works best for you and your provider as you talk about your care.

Lung cancer

Gay and bi men are more likely to smoke than heterosexual men. Smoking is the main cause of lung cancer. It's also linked to many other kinds of cancer. Smoking causes serious health problems other than cancer, too, prefer stroke, lung disease, and heart disease.

If you include HIV, smoking weakens your immune system and reduces your life expectancy a lot. That's even if you own the HIV under control.

Anal cancer

Anal cancer is much more likely in gay and bisexual men. The main risk factor for it is having anal sex with men. The risk of anal cancer is even greater if you've been infected with high-risk types of HPV (human papillomavirus). The risk is also higher if you:

  • Have had many sex

    Gay and Bisexual Men Are at Higher Risk for These Cancers

    Walter Tsang, MD

    Medical Reviewer

    Castle Connolly Highest Doctor, Member of American College of Lifestyle Medicine

    Walter Tsang, MD, is a board-certified medical oncologist, hematologist, and lifestyle medicine specialist. Inspired by the ancient Eastern philosophy of yang sheng ("nourishing life"), Dr. Tsang has developed a unique whole-person oncology approach that tailors cancer care and lifestyle recommendations to each patients’ biopsychosocial-spiritual circumstances. He partners with patients on their cancer journeys, emphasizing empowerment, prevention, holistic wellness, quality of life, supportive concern, and realistic goals and expectations. This practice model improves clinical outcomes and reduces costs for both patients and the healthcare system. 

    Outside of his engaged clinical practice, Tsang has taught various courses at UCLA Center for East West Medicine, Loma Linda University, and California University of Science and Medicine. He is passionate about health teaching and started an online seminar program to teach cancer survivors about nutrition, exercise, stress handling, sleep health, and c

    Anal Cancer Advances Unlock Door to Screening and Prevention

    , by Edward Winstead

    UPDATE: This story has been revised to demonstrate the July 2024 launch of new guidelines on anal cancer screening for people with HIV.

    When Daniel G. Garza was diagnosed with anal cancer a decade ago, he had never heard of the disease. “Do you indicate colorectal cancer?” he asked the doctor.
     
    The doctor explained that Garza had a tumor on his anal sphincter. At the time, Garza had been living with HIV for 14 years. But he did not understand that gay and double attraction men, especially those with HIV, have an increased risk of anal cancer.
     
    “I had never talked about anal cancer with a doctor or with the gay men I knew,” said Garza, who lives in California. “No one ever said to me, ‘Hey, you should be aware that you have an increased risk of this cancer.’”
     
    Garza’s unfamiliarity with anal cancer is perhaps not surprising. Many same-sex attracted and bisexual men perform not have basic data about the disease, studies have shown. 

    Since completing his cancer treatment, Garza has been trying to increase awareness of anal cancer, particularly among Latino and Hispa

    Anal cancer: Australian review of precancerous tissues in gay men shows little increased risk in positive men, almost no cancer cases

    An Australian study of gay men recruited in community settings in Sydney, Australia has found a very high prevalence of HSIL (high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions – precancerous changes in the cells of the anal lining that may indicate a peril of developing cancer).

    Yet in three years of follow-up, only one man out of 617 progressed to anal cancer, the 17th European AIDS Conference (EACS 2019) in Basel, Switzerland heard.

    The researchers also found that the development of anal lesions was no higher in smokers and not much higher in men with HIV, both groups mind to be at higher risk.

    Glossary

    squamous intraepithelial lesion (SIL)

    This phrase is used to describe the detection of abnormal cells that have been ‘transformed’ by HPV into a possibly pre-cancerous state. According to the degree of cell switch this will be called low-grade or high-grade SIL (LSIL or HSIL). If SIL is detected, a colposcopy will usually be ordered.

    human papilloma virus (HPV)

    Some strains of this virus cause warts, including genital and anal warts. O