If you have been diagnosed with prostate cancer, you are not alone. During his lifetime, a man has about a 1 in 10 chance of being diagnosed with prostate cancer. Over 200,000 new cases of prostate cancer are diagnosed annually in the U.S.

Prostate cancer is a malignant tumor that begins growing in the prostate gland. It can spread from the prostate to nearby lymph nodes, bones, or other organs. This spread is called metastasis. A male hormone called testosterone can stimulate the growth of hormone-dependent prostate cancer cells.

Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in men. But the good news is that survival rates have improved a great deal. In the past 20 years, 5-year survival rates for all stages of prostate cancer combined have increased from 67% to 99%.

Risk Factors

While researchers still do not know exactly what causes prostate cancer, they have identified some risk factors.

• Age. The risk of developing prostate cancer increases as you age. More than 70% of all prostate cancers are diagnosed in men over age 65.
• Family History. Men whose father and/or brother had prostate cancer are up to 11 times more likely to develop prostate cancer.
• Ethnicity. The death rate for prostate cancer is nearly 2.4 times higher in African-American men than in Caucasian men. (Because of this additional risk, earlier screening for prostate cancer is recommended for African-American men. See below.)
• Diet. Research suggests that prostate health may be affected by diet.
• Obesity. Studies have shown that the death rate from prostate cancer increases in obese men.

Getting Tested

When should you be tested for prostate cancer? According to the American Cancer Society, men aged 50 and older with a life expectancy of at least 10 years, and those over the age of 45 who are in high-risk groups (such as African-American men and men with a family history of prostate cancer) should have a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood test and digital rectal exam (DRE) once every year. For more information on these and other tests, see Diagnosis.

Learn more about the symptoms of prostate cancer.