BACKGROUND: The association between gonorrhea and prostate cancer risk has been investigated widely, but the results remain inconsistent and contradictory. We conducted an updated meta-analysis to obtain a more precise estimate of this association.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: PubMed, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library were searched for papers up to June 2014 to identify eligible studies. Pooled odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated to assess the influence of gonorrhea on prostate cancer risk.

RESULTS: Twenty-one observational studies (19 case-control and 2 cohort) were eligible, comprising 9965 prostate cancer patients and 118 765 participants. Pooled results indicated that gonorrhea was significantly associated with increased incidence of prostate cancer (OR 1.31, 95% CI 1.14–1.52). The association between gonorrhea and prostate cancer was stronger in African American males (OR 1.32, 95% CI 1.06–1.65) than in Whites (OR 1.05, 95% CI 0.90–1.21).

CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that gonorrhea is associated with an increased risk of prostate cancer, especially among African American males. These results warrant further well-designed, large-scale cohort studies to draw definitive conclusions.

Keywords: Gonorrhea - epidemiology, Incidence, Prostatic Neoplasms - epidemiology, Risk Factors