Quote:
Originally Posted by pstinard  Only 70 dogs in the study, mostly larger breeds. Here is the concluding paragraph of the study:
"Despite the fact that early castration may not protect against prostate cancer, there may be other advantages associated with castration such as behaviour modification and prevention of other diseases of the prostate and testes ( Krawiec, 1989; Krawiec & Heflin, 1992; Neilson et al., 1997). In addition, castration is also advocated in the US as a means to control the pet population ( Olson & Moulton, 1993; Stubbs & Bloomberg, 1995; Howe, 1997). Nevertheless, the results from this study clarify the discrepancies regarding canine prostate cancer and its hormonal association. Further studies are warranted to study the mechanisms involved in the possible protective effects of testicular hormones against prostate cancer development in dogs."
Here is the info on the breeds in this study:
"Information regarding signalment and clinical data was available on 70 dogs, 35 from the biopsy population and 35 from the necropsy population. The median age was 10 years (range 5–18.5 years). Twenty-eight dogs were mixed breeds: seven German shepherds, five Labrador retrievers, four German shorthair pointers and several other pure breeds were represented with one to two cases each. Most dogs with prostate cancer in both the biopsy as well as the necropsy population were castrated, with 49 (70%) being castrated and 21 (30%) being intact. The median age of castration was 2 years (range 2–14 years). Information regarding castration age was missing in five cases. Compared with the neuter status in a control population of frequency age-matched dogs with other tumours (39% castrated versus 61% intact), it was found that there was an increased risk of prostate carcinoma in castrated dogs: OR = 3.9, P < 0.0001, 95% CI = 2.3 to 6.8." |
This part has me scratching my head:
Compared with the neuter status in a control population of frequency age-matched dogs with other tumours (39% castrated versus 61% intact), it was found that there was an increased risk of prostate carcinoma in castrated dogs: OR = 3.9, P < 0.0001, 95% CI = 2.3 to 6.8.
Are they saying that overall, there is a higher percentage of
other classes of tumors in intact dogs than in castrated dogs?