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 1999, about 179,300 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in the United States, and about 37,000 men will die of the disease.
Age is the most significant 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 1992 to 1996 were 49.6 cases per 100,000 men under age 65, and 1131.9 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 significantly higher incidence rates than white men, though incidence among white men is rising faster, probably as a result of intensified screening.