Causes of Cancer of the Prostate
The exact cause of prostate cancer is not known, but researchers have found certain factors which are known to be linked to prostate cancer. In other words there are certain things which can greatly increase the risk of getting prostate cancer. These things are age, heredity, ethnicity, hormones, and diet.
Prostate cancer is the second most diagnosed cancer for men in the United States, next to skin cancer. One man in six will be diagnosed with prostate cancer at some point in his life, and one man in thirty-two will die of this disease. Men over the age of fifty are at increased risk for prostate cancer, and two thirds of those diagnosed with prostate cancer are over sixty-five. Although it’s considered to be more prevalent in older men, it has afflicted younger men, too. However, men who are under thirty have only a .01% chance of being diagnosed with prostate cancer, whereas men between the ages of thirty and forty have a 0.29% chance. The percentage goes up in men between the ages of forty and fifty to a 2.23% chance; after fifty 50, the percentages increase to a 6.45% chance of getting it. Men between the ages of sixty and seventy have a 8.36% chance, and over the age of seventy, the percentage chance of getting prostate cancer is about 12%.
When a man passes the age of forty, his prostate gland begins to get larger. The enlargement is generally benign (non-cancerous), but may cause elevation in the man’s prostate-specific antigen level. This over growth of the prostate gland is known as Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BHP). When the prostate enlarges, the cells multiply, and this new growth, which increase in older men, may develop into abnormalities and possible malignancies. BHP does not require treatment unless the size of the prostate interferes with the man’s ability to urinate. If this complication develops, there are several safe treatments available.
It appears that heredity plays a role in prostate cancer. In general, men who have a father, grandfather, or brother who has gotten the disease, have a greatly increased risk of getting it themselves. DNA, which makes up genes, may be the most likely cause of prostate cancer. DNA is inherited from parents and ancestors, and causes cells to multiply at certain times during life. The genes that are under suspicion of causing prostate cancer are called Hereditary Prostate Cancer Genes 1, 2, and X (HPC1, HPC2, and HPCX).
Researchers have also noticed a link between race and prostate cancer. Men of African-American descent are twice as likely to get prostate cancer and die of it than any other ethnic group. Conversely, Hispanic and Asian men are less likely than Caucasian men to get it. Scientist have not discovered the reason for this disparity yet.
Prostate cancer has been linked to high levels of certain hormones such as male hormone androgens, found in testosterone, and a hormone known as IGF-1. High levels of these hormones have been linked to the contraction of prostate cancer in several studies. There are drugs available that can inhibit these hormones and there is also a surgery, called orchiectomy, which help to control the overproduction of hormones which can lead to cancer.
Some studies have linked diet with prostate cancer; specifically diets which have large amounts of red meat, and are high in dairy products have been linked to the disease. Obesity has also been shown to have an effect on prostate cancer, but this could be due to the fact that obesity can encourage the overproduction of hormones that are linked with prostate cancer.
It must be noted that none of these things have been proven to cause prostate cancer, and there are men who have many of these factors, but do not get prostate cancer.
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