Prostate cancer risks and causes
This page tells you about the risks and causes of prostate cancer and factors that can affect the risk of developing prostate cancer. There is information below on
Risks and causes of prostate cancer
Prostate cancer is now the most common cancer in men in the UK (not counting non melanoma skin cancer). There are some risk factors that we know about.
Age is the most significant risk factor. Nearly 6 out of 10 cases (57%) are in men over 70. It is quite rare in men under 50.
You may also be more at risk if you
- Have a family history of prostate or breast cancer
- Are black (of African ancestry) – prostate cancer is more common in black and mixed race men than white or Asian men
Your diet may affect your risk. There is a lot of research going on and the evidence is not strong but you may increase your prostate cancer risk if you eat a diet high in dairy products. There is some evidence that lycopene from tomatoes may lower the risk.
Some studies have shown that having diabetes, and perhaps taking aspirin or other non steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) may reduce the risk of prostate cancer.
Prostate cancer is now the most common cancer in men in the UK (not counting non melanoma skin cancer). More than 35,500 men are diagnosed each year. That is 24 out of every 100 cancers diagnosed in men.
Prostate cancer is quite rare in men under 50. Nearly 6 out of 10 cases (57%) are diagnosed in men over 70. Age is the most significant risk factor of all for prostate cancer. The older you are, the greater the risk. Some studies, based on post mortem findings, estimate that all men would have prostate cancer if they lived to over a hundred.
No one can give you an exact figure of risk. In the UK, about 1 in 10 men (10%) will get prostate cancer at some point in their lives. Remember, this is lifetime risk - involving men who get prostate cancer at any age, up to 85 or more. Your risk when you are younger will be much lower than 1 in 10.
Generally speaking, if you have a father or brother diagnosed with prostate cancer you are at about double the risk of getting the disease yourself, compared to the average man. The age that your relative is diagnosed with prostate cancer may also be a factor. If they were diagnosed before the age of 60, this increases your risk by slightly more than if they were diagnosed after the age of 60. If you have more than one first degree relative diagnosed with prostate cancer (at any age) your risk is about 4 times that of the general population.
If your relative was young when they were diagnosed, or if you have several relatives with prostate cancer, these could be signs that there is a faulty gene running in the family. The younger the age at diagnosis, the more likely it is that a faulty gene is the cause. Remember - for there to be a faulty gene at work, the affected relatives have to come from the same side of your family (your mother's side or your father's side). Scientists are working on identifying the genes that may increase the risk of prostate cancer. In 2008, Cancer Research UK scientists identified 7 gene changes that increase the risk of prostate cancer. In the future, they may develop a test, to see if men are carrying any of these genes.
It is important to remember that statistics are always a generalisation. There are likely to be specific factors at work for some men, which increase their risk.
A strong family history of breast cancer may also increase your risk of prostate cancer. This is because the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes associated with a higher risk of breast cancer are also linked to a higher risk of prostate cancer. Since 1999, several studies in different countries have looked at BRCA2 mutations and the risk of prostate cancer. The findings of these studies vary because BRCA2 is a big gene and mutations in different parts of the gene increase the risk by different amounts. Ethnicity and other factors can also play a part in increasing or decreasing the risk. However, all the studies agree that men who have a BRCA2 mutation have a risk of prostate cancer that is between 2 to 5 times higher than men who do not have a BRCA2 mutation. In men under 65 the risk may be increased by up to seven times compared to men who do not have a BRCA mutation. The risk of prostate cancer is also increased in men who have BRCA1 mutations but not by as much as BRCA2 mutation.
Some studies have found an increased risk of prostate cancer among men who've had bowel cancer. So there may be a common faulty gene for both these types of cancer.
Prostate cancer is more common in Black Caribbean, black African, and mixed race men than it is in white or Asian men. In Britain, Indian and Pakistani men have a higher risk than white men, but Chinese and Bangladeshi men have a lower risk. This is probably due to a mixture of inherited genes and environmental factors but we don't really know the full story yet.
Men with diabetes mellitus have a slightly lower risk of prostate cancer than the average man. We don't know why this is. Research into this issue is coming up with contradictory results at the moment. But it may be something to do with a change in normal insulin production in diabetes affecting the level of a growth factor called IGF-1 in the blood.
Eating a healthy diet can lower your risk of many cancers. But it's still too early to say whether diet can affect prostate cancer risk. We all eat such a variety of different things that any link between diet and illness is very difficult to prove. A major problem with studying diet and disease is that it is very difficult to record exactly what people are eating.
A huge Europe wide research study (called EPIC) is looking into diet and several different types of cancer, including prostate cancer. Half a million people are taking part and recording what they eat and drink. The researchers will follow their progress for more than 10 years to see who develops cancer. Early results from the EPIC study haven't shown any link between the amount of fruit and veg that men eat and their risk of prostate cancer.
Results from the EPIC study suggest that a diet high in dairy products may increase your risk of getting prostate cancer. This may be because of the particular proteins or the calcium in dairy products. But calcium from non-dairy foods does not appear to increase prostate cancer risk.
There is some evidence that lycopene from tomatoes may lower prostate cancer risk. A 2007 summary of the evidence on diet carried out by the World Cancer Research Fund stated that selenium probably also protects against prostate cancer. However, the results of the Selenium and Vitamin E Cancer Prevention Trial have been released since then and they found no reduction in prostate cancer for men receiving supplements. So we need more research to clarify this.
Insulin-like growth factor is a normal chemical that our body makes. It is involved in the regulation of normal cell growth and death. There is some evidence of a link between levels of this chemical in the blood and the risk of prostate cancer.
This research is still in the early stages. Some researchers think that IGF-1 might help to cause prostate cancer. Others think it might be made by prostate cancer cells and higher levels show that you already have the disease - so they think it is a marker for prostate cancer, like PSA.
Hormone levels may or may not play a part in the risk of developing prostate cancer. The prostate gland is a sex organ. It produces a liquid which is mixed with sperm to make semen. Testosterone is a sex hormone produced by the testicle and the prostate gland needs testosterone to work. It was thought in the past that having higher levels of testosterone in the blood may increase the risk of prostate cancer. But, in 2008 an analysis of 18 separate studies found no link between levels of sex hormones and prostate cancer risk.
CancerHelp UK has information about hormone therapies for prostate cancer.
Non steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) include the over-the-counter painkiller ibuprofen (Nurofen or Brufen). Aspirin is also an anti-inflammatory drug. Some studies have shown a reduced risk of prostate cancer in people taking these drugs. However, others studies have not and so overall the picture is unclear.
Remember - this research is in its early stages and scientists do not recommend taking aspirin or other NSAIDs for this reason at present. Don't take aspirin or other NSAIDs regularly without checking with your doctor first. These drugs can damage the lining of your stomach and cause bleeding.
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