Instruments used for a Jewish circumcision. Photo: wiki commons.

Circumcision before sex may reduce the risk of prostate cancer in males, according to a new study.

Jonathan Wright and a team of researchers at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, Washington, found that men who were circumcised before having sexual intercourse for the first time, are 15% less likely to get the disease.

“Although observational only, these data suggest a biologically plausible mechanism through which circumcision may decrease the risk of prostate cancer. Future research of this relationship is warranted,” Dr. Wright said.

Wright says that because infections can lead to prostate cancer and circumcision reduces the risk of certain infections, the procedure may reduce the risk of the leading cause of death to American males over the age of 75.

Circumcision rates around the world vary widely but in the United States, nearly 75% of men have had the procedure done for “non-religious reasons”, according to the World Health Organization.