PROSTATE CANCER: EPIDEMIOLOGY, RISK FACTORS, DIAGNOSIS

Prostate cancer is a major cause of disease and mortality among men, and each year 1.5 million men are diagnosed with and 400,000 men die of prostate cancer. The reasons for the increase of this disease are not known, but increasing life expectancy and modified diagnostic techniques have been suggested as causes. The established risk factors for this disease are advancing age, race, positive family history of prostate cancer and western diet (use of fat items). Several other risk factors, such as obesity, physical activity, sexual activity, smoking and occupation have been also associated with prostate cancer risk, but their roles in prostate cancer etiology remain uncertain. We provide descriptive epidemiology statistics and patterns for prostate cancer incidence and mortality around the world. This includes discussion of the impact of prostate-specific antigen screening on prostate cancer epidemiology. This mini-review aims to provide risk factors, disease knowledge, prevalence and awareness about prostate cancer.