An evidence of link between men who took muscle-building supplements and their risk of developing testicular cancer has been found by a new study published in the British Journal of Cancer.

The survey included almost 900 men from Massachusetts and Connecticut. The study subjects were asked questions about their habits like smoking, drinking, supplement use and other factors. They all were also asked about their family history of testicular cancer.

Among the men surveyed, 356 had been diagnosed with testicular cancer. According to the researchers, they have found a link between the use of muscle-building supplements and the risk of developing cancer even after controlling for other factors such as race and age. People in the control group and the group with cancer had similar levels of education, prevalence of smoking, alcohol drinking and height.

A representative for the Council for Responsible Nutrition has not said anything related to the latest research. The Council for Responsible Nutrition is leading trade association for the supplement industry. According to the researchers, men who use muscle-building supplements could increase their risk of developing testicular cancer by 65%.

Men who used over one type of muscle building supplement had increase risk of 177%. Men who began making use of supplements at the age of 25 or younger had a 121% increase in risk.

"Considering magnitude of association and observed dose-response trends, muscle-building supplements use may be an important and modifiable exposure that could have important scientific and clinical importance for preventing testicular germ cell cancer development if this association is confirmed by future studies", the authors noted in the study.

Supplements that were used by the study's participants have not been specifically named in the study. The findings suggest a relationship between supplement use and cancer and has not been proved that the supplements cause cancer.