The prostate is about the size of a walnut. It is located below the bladder and in front of the rectum. Cancer of the prostate is the most common malignancy in American men. It is estimated that this year in the United States nearly 250,000 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer, and about 40,000 men will die from this disease. In the majority of men with prostate cancer, it is very slow growing, and most of these men die with prostate cancer and not from it.
All men are at risk.
The most profound risk factor is age. The average age at diagnosis is 65, and the lifetime risk of developing prostate cancer for a 50 year old is about 10 percent. African American men have a 30 to 50 percent higher risk of prostate cancer than white Americans. Dramatic differences in the incidence of prostate cancer are seen in different countries, and there is some evidence that a diet higher in animal fat may, in part, underlie these differences in risk. Genetic factors play a role, particularly for families in whom the diagnosis is made in men under 60 years of age, and the risk of prostate cancer rises with the number of close relatives who have the disease.