Factors for developing prostate cancer

Family history and race are two significant risk factors for prostate cancer.

While the Prostate Cancer Foundation notes that nearly 60 per cent of all prostate cancers are diagnosed in men over the age of 65, making age the single greatest risk factor for prostate cancer, men with family histories of the disease and/or those of a certain race must recognize that their vulnerability to the disease is greater than others', even if they are nowhere near retirement age.

According to the PCF, African American men are 73 per cent more likely to develop prostate cancer compared to Caucasian men. African American men are also 2.4 times more likely to die from the disease than Caucasian men, which only serves to emphasize the importance that African American men must place on discussing prostate cancer and prostate cancer screenings with their physicians.

Men with a relative who has developed prostate cancer are twice as likely to develop the disease than those without such family histories. That risk is even greater among men with more than one relative who has been diagnosed with prostate cancer.

The PCF notes that men with two or more relatives who have had prostate cancer are nearly four times as likely to be diagnosed with the disease than those without such a link.

Men whose relatives were diagnosed with prostate cancer before age 65 have an even higher risk of getting the disease than men whose relatives were diagnosed after turning 65.

But men should also be mindful of their family histories with other cancers, as men may be at a greater risk of getting prostate cancer if their families have a history of breast cancer, colon cancer or pancreatic cancer.