It produces a thick fluid that forms part of semen, enabling sperm to be released during ejaculation. The normal prostate is about the size of a walnut, and is located below the bladder and in front of the rectum. The prostate surrounds the upper part of the urethra, the tube that empties urine from the bladder. Prostate cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer among American men, other than skin cancer. In 2000, about 180,400 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in the United States, and about 31,900 men will die of the disease.
Age is the most common risk factor for prostate cancer.
The disease is rare in men under age 45, but incidence rates rise rapidly with age. Annual U.S. incidence rates from 1993 to 1997 were 50.8 cases per 100,000 men under age 65, and 1,025.3 cases per 100,000 men ages 65 and older. Most men who get prostate cancer are in their seventies or older. Men with a family history of prostate cancer are at increased risk for the disease. Black men have higher incidence rates than white men, though incidence among white men is rising faster, probably as a result of intensified screening.