Certain conditions or exposures can increase your risk of getting prostate cancer. Keep in mind that having a risk factor does not necessarily mean you will get cancer, and not having any of them does not guarantee you won’t.
- Age. The risk of prostate cancer increases steadily from age 40 to 80.
- Diet. The correlation between diet and prostate cancer remains unclear. However, Duke research has shown that obese men are more likely to be diagnosed with agressive prostate cancer.
- Race and ethnicity. Prostate cancer is more common in African-Americans, and it is more common in certain regions of the world, including North America, northwestern Europe, Australia, and the Caribbean Islands.
- Family history. Having a father or brother with prostate cancer increases a man’s risk for prostate cancer.
- Gene mutations. Several genes are associated with an increased risk of prostate cancer.
- PSA level at age 40. New research (including research conducted at Duke) shows that the PSA blood test level at age 40 is a strong predictor of future prostate cancer risk. A man with a PSA level less than 1.0 ng/ml at age 40 is at the lowest risk, while men who have a level greater than 1.0 ng/ml need to be watched more closely.
Learn more about prostate cancer:
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