Causes of prostate cancer

The exact cause of prostate cancer is not clear. There are, however, a few risk factors for developing this disease. These include genetic factors (a positive family history), increase in age, and environmental factors such as diet. 

Ten percent of prostate cancer is inherited. These cancers usually develop at a younger age and are more aggressive. If one first degree family member (father or brother) has prostate cancer, the risk for developing prostate cancer is twice as high as it is for the normal population. This increases to eleven-fold if three first degree family members have prostate cancer.

An increase in age also increases the risk of developing prostate cancer. Prostate cancer is exceedingly rare before the age of 40, but one in eight men between the ages of 60 and 80 years suffer from the disease. In very old men prostate cancer is not always clinically significant. Autopsy data indicate a 70% incidence of prostate cancer in 80-year-old men. The majority of these men died with rather than from prostate cancer.

Acquired risk factors from the environment mainly include diet. A typical Western diet high in animal fats and with a large consumption of red meat may increase the risk of developing prostate cancer. 

Reviewed for Health24 by Dr Pieter Theron, Urologist, Netcare N1 City Hospital, Cape Town, August 2010