Prostate Cancer and Epidemiology

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in America

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in America -- excluding skin cancers such as squamous and basal cell carcinoma. In 2005, an estimated 232,000 new cases will occur in the U.S. One of six American men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in his lifetime. There will be more than 30,000 deaths from prostate cancer in the U.S. alone in 2005, making it the second leading cause of cancer death after lung cancer.

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The only well-established risk factors for prostate cancer include older age, a family history of prostate cancer and race. The chance of having prostate cancer increases rapidly after age 50. More than 70% of all prostate cancers are diagnosed in men over the age of 65.

Approximately 25% of men with prostate cancer have a history of the disease within their family. However, it is believed that only 9% of all prostate cancers are purely hereditary, meaning that inherited genetic mutations as opposed to somatic mutations in genes that occur over time have been shown to result in cancer. The risk of prostate cancer doubles among men having a first-degree relative with the disease. With two close relatives, a man's risk increases fivefold, and with three or more close relatives, the risk for developing prostate cancer is alarmingly high.

As baby boomer men reach the target zone for prostate cancer, beginning at age 50, the number of new cases is projected to increase dramatically. By 2015, there will be more than 300,000 new prostate cancer cases each year, a 50% increase.


Reprinted with permission of the Prostate Cancer Foundation


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