Prostate Cancer Prostate Cancer 101 What Is Prostate Cancer? Except for skin cancer, cancer of the prostate is the most common malignancy in American men. In 1999 in the United States, nearly 179,300 men were diagnosed with prostate cancer. Prostate cancer is very slow growing in most men and many of these men will not die because of the prostate cancer, but rather will live with it until they eventually die of some other cause. Risk Factors Growing older is the primary risk factor for prostate cancer, but all men are at risk. More than 75 percent of men diagnosed with prostate cancer each year are over the age of 65. African American men have a higher risk of prostate cancer than do 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. Genetic factors also appear to play a role, particularly for families in whom the diagnosis is made in men under 60 years of age. The risk of prostate cancer rises with the number of close relatives who have the disease.
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