Risk Factors For Prostate Cancer A risk factor is a term used to describe any aspect that increases a person's chance of developing a disease such as cancer.
Some risk factors increase the likelihood of certain types of cancers.
For example, it is known that smoking is a risk factor for lung, mouth and throat cancers. At times, those with risk factors don't develop the cancer and other times, cancer can occur in people with no known risk factors. Several factors are consistently associated with an increased risk of developing prostate cancers. Some risk factors are things that cannot be changed, like age and sex. While, other risk factors such as lifestyle, diet and environmental exposure, are things that can be modified or controlled.