The experts of the Royal Surrey County Hospital reported that since the beginning of this year, hundreds of British men were sent for prostate cancer tests since their health care specialists had seen the signs of prostate cancer, including increased levels of blood protein (a prostate-specific antigen known also as PSA). PSA is considered one of the main indicators of this serious disease in men, but it turned out that PSA level rise was caused not by prostate cancer development but by regular bicycle riding. These interesting connections between cycling and prostate cancer signs were observed and briefly studied before, but this did not help a great number of men avoid quite painful (and useless in this case) procedure of biopsy.

The effects of cycling on prostate, PSA levels and prostate cancer development have been researched by many experts. A group of scientists led by Dr. H. Ballentine Carter, an urology specialist at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, found out that regular cycling is not linked to any physical damage or trauma which could cause elevated levels of PSA. Another study by a group of scientists of Martin I Resnick, Professor of Urology, was dedicated to analyzing risk factors for prostate cancer. In the framework of this study the scientists analyzed medical history of Lance Armstrong, a famous cyclist who suffered from testicular cancer. The experts came to a conclusion that his disease was not related to his professional occupation.

Chris Eden, one of the leading UK experts in Laparoscopic Urology and a professional consultant of the Royal Surrey County Hospital, pointed on the necessity of all today’s urology specialists to keep in mind the discovered connections between regular cycling and prostate cancer signs. “Unfortunately some doctors may be unaware that cycling can spuriously raise a man`s PSA levels and so refer their patient for further and unnecessary treatment. All because their cycling produced a false positive,” Eden said. According to the expert, elevated PSA levels which can be mistakenly taken as one of the signs of prostate cancer, take place only temporarily, and in order to see a real picture, a man should refrain from bicycle riding for at least 48 hours prior having his PSA test.

Thus, any sort of raised PSA levels detected after regular cycling should not be understood as a prostate cancer warning sign, and cycling should be completely eliminated from the risk factors for prostate cancer. On the contrary, Erden says, cardio exercise like bicycle riding can play a role of excellent prevention for prostate cancer and many other health conditions including cardiovascular problems and obesity. Cycling is a very enjoyable and very healthy type of physical activities which contributes greatly to our total fitness, and there no need for male cyclists to be afraid of the links between cycling and prostate cancer signs. However, it is important for every man over 40 to regularly check out and be aware about their PSA levels, the expert said.

Author Info: Hi! My name is Carla and I am a 5th year medical student at HYMS. I am interested in alternative medicine and I have done months researching the topic of herbal medicine. Besides, I like interviewing people and learning more about their experiences with one or another type of herbal treatments. I am willing to contribute to this site with my knowledge, and I would be happy to help you out to the best of my ability with any specific questions or problems related to alternative medicine.

One Response to “Cycling Caused Signs Of Prostate Cancer”

1. Darrell Says:
   March 27th, 2012 at 3:33 am

   Perhaps the cycling increases levels of testosterone which increases levels of PSA.