STOCKHOLM, Sweden, Oct. 30 (UPI) -- A Swedish study suggests women who experience severe gestational hypertension may give birth to boys who are at lower risk for testicular cancer.
Medical researchers aren't certain why that occurs, but Dr. Andreas Pettersson of the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm said the protective effect of gestational hypertension might be due to the hormones that are released when a placenta malfunctions.
"Ironically, a malfunctioning placenta may lower the risk," said Pettersson. "One possible reason is that estrogens are lower in pregnancies that develop severe gestational hypertension or preeclampsia, and this lack of estrogens may lower the risk of testicular cancer."
The research is reported in the journal Cancer Research.
