Prostate Cancer Slideshow Pictures Medical Illustrations of the Prostate Image Collection Screening Tests Every Man Needs Slideshow Pictures

Medical Author:

Kevin C. Zorn, MD, FRCSC, FACS

Coauthor:

Gagan Gautam, MD, MCh (Urology)

Medical Editor:

William C. Shiel Jr., MD, FACP, FACR

William C. Shiel Jr., MD, FACP, FACR

Dr. Shiel received a Bachelor of Science degree with honors from the University of Notre Dame. There he was involved in research in radiation biology and received the Huisking Scholarship. After graduating from St. Louis University School of Medicine, he completed his Internal Medicine residency and Rheumatology fellowship at the University of California, Irvine. He is board-certified in Internal Medicine and Rheumatology.

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Prostate Cancer Causes

The cause of prostate cancer is unknown, but hormonal, genetic, environmental, and dietary factors are thought to play roles. The following risk factors have been linked with development of this condition:

• Age: There is a strong correlation between increasing age and developing prostate cancer. The incidence of prostate cancer increases steadily from fewer than one in 100,000 for men 40 years of age to 1,146 per 100,000 in men 85 years of age. The median age at diagnosis of prostate cancer is 70.5 years of age. More than 80% of prostate cancers are diagnosed in men older than 65 years of age. Autopsy records indicate that 70% of men older than 90 years of age have at least one region of cancer in their prostate.



• Race: African American men are 1.6 times more likely than white men to develop prostate cancer. They are also 2.4 times more likely to die from their disease as compared to white men of a similar age. Asian Americans, on the other hand, have a much lower chance of getting prostate cancer as compared to whites or African Americans. Although, these racial criteria have been used to study and describe the disease in the past, there is no defined biologic basis for this classification. In other words, these differences in diagnosis and death rates are more likely to reflect a difference in factors like environmental exposure, diet, lifestyle, and health-seeking behavior rather than any racial susceptibility to prostate cancer. Recent evidence, however, suggests that this disparity is progressively decreasing with high chances of complete cure in men undergoing treatment for organ-confined prostate cancer (cancer that is limited to within the prostate without spread outside the confines of the prostate gland) irrespective of race.



• Genetic factors: Men who have a history of prostate cancer in their family, especially if it was a first-degree relative such as a father or brother, are at an increased risk. This risk may be two to three times greater than the risk for men without a family history of the disease. Earlier age at diagnosis (<60 years of age) in a first-degree relative and disease affecting more than one relative also increases the risk for developing prostate cancer.



• Infection: Recent evidence has suggested the role of sexually transmitted infections as one of the causative factors for prostate cancer. People who have had sexually transmitted infections are reported as having 1.4 times greater chance of developing the disease as compared to the general population.



• Diet: A diet high in fat has been associated with an increased risk of prostate cancer.



• Chemical agents: Exposure to chemicals such as cadmium has been implicated in the development of prostate cancer. There is also some evidence to suggest that obesity leads to an increased risk of having more aggressive, larger prostate cancer, which results in a poorer outcome after treatment.

There is no proven link between frequency of sexual activity and prostate cancer risk.