What are some risk factors that increase a persons chances of developing prostate cancer?
• AGE – Simply growing older increases a man’s risk for getting prostate cancer. More than 75 percent of prostate cancer cases are diagnosed in men ages 65 or older; just 7 percent of cases occur in men younger than age 60. The average age at diagnosis is 72. • RACE – African-American men have the world’s highest incidence of prostate cancer-a third higher than white Americans. By contrast, Asian immigrants to the United States have much lower rates. • FAMILY HISTORY – Men whose father or brothers have prostate cancer have an increased risk of contracting the disease as well. The risk is more than 10 times higher for a man who has three relatives with the disease. Risk may also be increased for men whose from families with a high incidence of breast cancer. Researchers increasingly are looking at hormonal and hereditary factors and at diet, environmental exposures, and other lifestyle factors in relation to prostate cancer.
