ABSTRACT
Prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed form of cancer in men in the United States and, following lung cancer, is the second most common cause of cancer-related death, with 189,000 cases and 30,200 deaths in 2002. The state of knowledge regarding risk factors for prostate cancer is reviewed, with particular attention to molecular and biochemical approaches to understanding the causes of the disease. Risks for prostate cancer are approximately doubled among men who have a family history of this disease. Several loci have also been suggested for prostate tumor aggressiveness, but the search to determine specific prostate cancer genes at these and other loci is underway. Interethnic comparisons provide evidence that serum androgen profiles may parallel population risks for prostate cancer. Dietary fat, particularly from animal sources, has been implicated as a risk factor for prostate cancer in many epidemiological studies; however, other studies have not shown an effect.
