Prostate Cancer Risk Factors

A risk factor is anything that raises your risk of getting a disease such as cancer. Different cancers have different risk factors. Some risk factors ... TheAmericanCancerSocietyishereto supportUkrainianpatients withcancer,caregivers,andclinicians. CloseCriticalAlertBanner Search prod Verenespañol | Downloadthistopic[PDF] Causes,RiskFactors,andPrevention ProstateCancerRiskFactors WhatCausesProstateCancer? CanProstateCancerBePrevented? CancerA-Z ProstateCancer Causes,RiskFactors,andPrevention ProstateCancerRiskFactors Ariskfactorisanythingthatraisesyourriskofgettingadiseasesuchascancer.Differentcancershavedifferentriskfactors.Someriskfactors,likesmoking,canbechanged.Others,likeaperson’sageorfamilyhistory,can’tbechanged. Buthavingariskfactor,orevenseveral,doesnotmeanthatyouwillgetthedisease.Manypeoplewithoneormoreriskfactorsnevergetcancer,whileotherswhogetcancermayhavehadfewornoknownriskfactors. Researchershavefoundseveralfactorsthatmightaffectaman’sriskofgettingprostatecancer. Age Prostatecancerisrareinmenyoungerthan40,butthechanceofhavingprostatecancerrisesrapidlyafterage50.About6in10casesofprostatecancerarefoundinmenolderthan65. Race/ethnicity ProstatecancerdevelopsmoreofteninAfricanAmericanmenandinCaribbeanmenofAfricanancestrythaninmenofotherraces.Andwhenitdoesdevelopinthesemen,theytendtobeyounger.ProstatecanceroccurslessofteninAsianAmericanandHispanic/Latinomenthaninnon-Hispanicwhites.Thereasonsfortheseracialandethnicdifferencesarenotclear. Geography ProstatecancerismostcommoninNorthAmerica,northwesternEurope,Australia,andonCaribbeanislands.ItislesscommoninAsia,Africa,CentralAmerica,andSouthAmerica. Thereasonsforthisarenotclear.Moreintensivescreeningforprostatecancerinsomedevelopedcountriesprobablyaccountsforatleastpartofthisdifference,butotherfactorssuchaslifestyledifferences(diet,etc.)arelikelytobeimportantaswell.Forexample,AsianAmericanshavealowerriskofprostatecancerthanwhiteAmericans,buttheirriskishigherthanthatofmenofsimilarethnicbackgroundslivinginAsia. Familyhistory Prostatecancerseemstoruninsomefamilies,whichsuggeststhatinsomecasestheremaybeaninheritedorgeneticfactor.Still,mostprostatecancersoccurinmenwithoutafamilyhistoryofit. Havingafatherorbrotherwithprostatecancermorethandoublesaman’sriskofdevelopingthisdisease. (Theriskishigherformenwhohaveabrotherwiththediseasethanforthosewhohaveafatherwithit.)Theriskismuchhigherformenwithseveralaffectedrelatives,particularlyiftheirrelativeswereyoungwhenthecancerwasfound. Genechanges Severalinheritedgenechanges(mutations)seemtoraiseprostatecancerrisk,buttheyprobablyaccountforonlyasmallpercentageofcasesoverall.Forexample: InheritedmutationsoftheBRCA1orBRCA2genes,whicharelinkedtoanincreasedriskofbreastandovariancancersinsomefamilies,canalsoincreaseprostatecancerriskinmen(especiallymutationsinBRCA2). MenwithLynchsyndrome(alsoknownashereditarynon-polyposiscolorectalcancer,orHNPCC),aconditioncausedbyinheritedgenechanges,haveanincreasedriskforanumberofcancers,includingprostatecancer. Otherinheritedgenechangescanalsoraiseaman’sriskofprostatecancer.Formoreonsomeofthesegenechanges,seeWhatCausesProstateCancer? Factorswithlesscleareffectsonprostatecancerrisk Diet Theexactroleofdietinprostatecancerisnotclear,butseveralfactorshavebeenstudied. Menwhoeatalotofdairyproductsappeartohaveaslightlyhigherchanceofgettingprostatecancer. Somestudieshavesuggestedthatmenwhoconsumealotofcalcium(throughfoodorsupplements)mayhaveahigherriskofdevelopingprostatecancer.Butmoststudieshavenotfoundsuchalinkwiththelevelsofcalciumfoundintheaveragediet,andit’simportanttonotethatcalciumisknowntohaveotherimportanthealthbenefits. Obesity Beingobese(veryoverweight)doesnotseemtoincreasetheoverallriskofgettingprostatecancer. Somestudieshavefoundthatobesemenhavealowerriskofgettingalow-grade(slowergrowing)formofthedisease,butahigherriskofgettingmoreaggressive(fastergrowing)prostatecancer.Thereasonsforthisarenotclear. Somestudieshavealsofoundthatobesemenmaybeatgreaterriskforhavingmoreadvancedprostatecancerandofdyingfromprostatecancer,butnotallstudieshavefoundthis. Smoking Moststudieshavenotfoundalinkbetweensmokingandgettingprostatecancer.Someresearchhaslinkedsmokingtoapossiblesmallincreasedriskofdyingfromprostatecancer,butthisfindingneedstobeconfirmedbyotherstudies. Chemicalexposures Thereissomeevidencethatfirefighterscanbeexposedtochemicalsthatmayincreasetheirriskofprostatecancer. AfewstudieshavesuggestedapossiblelinkbetweenexposuretoAgentOrange,achemicalusedwidelyduringtheVietnamWar,andtheriskofprostatecancer,althoughnotallstudieshavefoundsuchalink.TheNationalAcademyofMedicineconsiderstheretobe“limited/suggestiveevidence”ofalinkbetweenAgentOrangeexposureandprostatecancer.Tolearnmore,seeAgentOrangeandCancer. Inflammationoftheprostate Somestudieshavesuggestedthatprostatitis(inflammationoftheprostategland)maybelinkedtoanincreasedriskofprostatecancer,butotherstudieshavenotfoundsuchalink.Inflammationisoftenseeninsamplesofprostatetissuethatalsocontaincancer.Thelinkbetweenthetwoisnotyetclear,andthisisanactiveareaofresearch. Sexuallytransmittedinfections Researchershavelookedtoseeifsexuallytransmittedinfections(likegonorrheaorchlamydia)mightincreasetheriskofprostatecancer,becausetheycanleadtoinflammationoftheprostate.Sofar,studieshavenotagreed,andnofirmconclusionshavebeenreached. Vasectomy Somestudieshavesuggestedthatmenwhohavehadavasectomy(minorsurgerytomakemeninfertile)haveaslightlyincreasedriskforprostatecancer,butotherstudieshavenotfoundthis.Researchonthispossiblelinkisstillunderway. Writtenby References TheAmericanCancerSocietymedicalandeditorialcontentteam Ourteamismadeupofdoctorsand oncologycertifiednurseswithdeepknowledgeofcancercareaswellasjournalists,editors,andtranslatorswithextensiveexperienceinmedicalwriting. ChengHH,NelsonPS.Geneticriskfactorsforprostatecancer.UpToDate.2019.Accessedathttps://www.uptodate.com/contents/genetic-risk-factors-for-prostate-canceronMarch19,2019. NationalCancerInstitute.PhysicianDataQuery(PDQ).ProstateCancerPrevention.2019.Accessedathttps://www.cancer.gov/types/prostate/hp/prostate-prevention-pdqonMarch21,2019. NationalCancerInstitute.SEERCancerStatFacts:ProstateCancer.Accessedathttps://seer.cancer.gov/statfacts/html/prost.htmlonMarch19,2019. NelsonWG,AntonarakisES,CarterHB,DeMarzoAM,DeWeeseTL.Chapter81:ProstateCancer.In:NiederhuberJE,ArmitageJO,DoroshowJH,KastanMB,TepperJE,eds.Abeloff'sClinicalOncology. 6thed.Philadelphia,Pa:Elsevier;2020. RockCL,ThomsonC,GanslerT,etal.AmericanCancerSocietyguidelinefordietandphysicalactivityforcancerprevention.CACancerJClin.2020;70(4).doi:10.3322/caac.21591.Accessedathttps://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.3322/caac.21591onJune9,2020. SartorAO.Riskfactorsforprostatecancer.UpToDate.2019.Accessedathttps://www.uptodate.com/contents/risk-factors-for-prostate-canceronMarch19,2019. SiddiquiMM,WilsonKM,EpsteinMM,etal.Vasectomyandriskofaggressiveprostatecancer:A24-yearfollow-upstudy.JClinOncol.2014;32:3033-3038. ZelefskyMJ,MorrisMJ,EasthamJA.Chapter70:CanceroftheProstate.In:DeVitaVT,LawrenceTS,RosenbergSA,eds.DeVita,Hellman,andRosenberg’sCancer:PrinciplesandPracticeofOncology.11thed.Philadelphia,Pa:LippincottWilliams&Wilkins;2019. References ChengHH,NelsonPS.Geneticriskfactorsforprostatecancer.UpToDate.2019.Accessedathttps://www.uptodate.com/contents/genetic-risk-factors-for-prostate-canceronMarch19,2019. NationalCancerInstitute.PhysicianDataQuery(PDQ).ProstateCancerPrevention.2019.Accessedathttps://www.cancer.gov/types/prostate/hp/prostate-prevention-pdqonMarch21,2019. NationalCancerInstitute.SEERCancerStatFacts:ProstateCancer.Accessedathttps://seer.cancer.gov/statfacts/html/prost.htmlonMarch19,2019. NelsonWG,AntonarakisES,CarterHB,DeMarzoAM,DeWeeseTL.Chapter81:ProstateCancer.In:NiederhuberJE,ArmitageJO,DoroshowJH,KastanMB,TepperJE,eds.Abeloff'sClinicalOncology. 6thed.Philadelphia,Pa:Elsevier;2020. RockCL,ThomsonC,GanslerT,etal.AmericanCancerSocietyguidelinefordietandphysicalactivityforcancerprevention.CACancerJClin.2020;70(4).doi:10.3322/caac.21591.Accessedathttps://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.3322/caac.21591onJune9,2020. SartorAO.Riskfactorsforprostatecancer.UpToDate.2019.Accessedathttps://www.uptodate.com/contents/risk-factors-for-prostate-canceronMarch19,2019. SiddiquiMM,WilsonKM,EpsteinMM,etal.Vasectomyandriskofaggressiveprostatecancer:A24-yearfollow-upstudy.JClinOncol.2014;32:3033-3038. ZelefskyMJ,MorrisMJ,EasthamJA.Chapter70:CanceroftheProstate.In:DeVitaVT,LawrenceTS,RosenbergSA,eds.DeVita,Hellman,andRosenberg’sCancer:PrinciplesandPracticeofOncology.11thed.Philadelphia,Pa:LippincottWilliams&Wilkins;2019. LastRevised:June9,2020 AmericanCancerSocietymedicalinformationiscopyrighted material.Forreprintrequests,pleaseseeourContentUsagePolicy. Causes,RiskFactors,andPrevention ProstateCancerRiskFactors WhatCausesProstateCancer? CanProstateCancerBePrevented? MoreInProstateCancer AboutProstateCancer Causes,RiskFactors,andPrevention EarlyDetection,Diagnosis,andStaging Treatment AfterTreatment BackToTop Close * Close Imageof Previous Next Close Close SelectAHopeLodge