Cancer is a group of diseases that are characterized by uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells. It can occur in almost any part of the body, including the prostate gland. Aside from skin cancer, cancer of the prostate gland is the most common cancer among American men. In 1998, it is estimated that 250,000 men in the United States will be diagnosed with the disease. At current rates, it is also estimated that 1 in 3 American men will develop prostate cancer in his lifetime.
Prostate cancer is the second only to lung cancer in cancer deaths among American men.
All men are at risk for developing prostate cancer, and as a man ages, his risk of developing prostate cancer increases. The average age at diagnosis is 65. African American men in the United States have the highest prostate cancer rates of any group in the world, and a 50 percent greater risk of developing the disease than white Americans. Although there are no known causes of prostate cancer, dramatic differences in the number of men diagnosed with prostate cancer are seen in different countries, and there's some evidence that a diet higher in animal fat may, in part, explain these differences. Genetic factors also play a role, with the risk of prostate cancer rising with the number of close relatives who have the disease.