Exploring the risk factors for prostate cancer
TIMESLEDGER | QNS.COM | SEPT. 11-SEPT. 17, 2020 19
garding this potentially
deadly disease. The PCF
notes, for instance, that
the risk factors for aggressive
version of this
type of cancer can differ
from the risk factors for
slow-growing cancers. As
a result, risk factors that
were once not linked to
prostate cancer are now
being linked to aggressive
forms of the disease.
Smoking, for example,
might be a risk factor
for aggressive prostate
cancer, as is a diet void of
vegetables. Neither factor,
however, is thought
to increase a man’s risk
of slow-growing prostate
cancer. Additional risk
factors for aggressive
prostate cancer include
height (tall men might
have an elevated risk)
and living a sedentary
lifestyle.
Many men are aware
of the importance of
prostate cancer screenings.
However, few might
know that certain factors
significantly increase
their risk for being diagnosed
with this potentially
deadly disease.
More information about
prostate cancer is available
at www.pcf.org.
In the United States,
one in six men can expect
to be diagnosed with
prostate cancer, while
there is a one in seven
chance that a Canadian
man will be diagnosed
with prostate cancer at
some point during his
lifetime.
Those elevated incidence
rates could be a
byproduct of an aging
population, as age is a
significant risk factor
for prostate cancer. According
to the Prostate
Cancer Foundation, one
in 10,000 men under age
40 will be diagnosed with
prostate cancer. That figure
skyrockets to one in
38 for men between the
ages of 40 to 59, and one
in 15 for men in their 60s.
Though age is perhaps
the most significant
risk factor, it’s not the
only thing that increases
a man’s risk for prostate
cancer. In fact, there are
a host of factors in addition
to age that increase
a man’s risk for prostate
cancer, which the Canadian
Cancer Society
says will claim the lives
of more than 4,000 Canadian
men this year.
One such risk factor
is where a man lives.
Men who live in rural
China, for instance,
have a relatively low risk
of developing prostate
cancer during their lifetime.
That risk is only
two percent if a man
stays in rural China his
entire life. But that risk
increases significantly if
a Chinese man moves to
the West, where a man in
the United States has a 17
percent chance of developing
prostate cancer.
And not only does
which country a man
lives in play a role, but
also the location of his
home within that country’s
borders can elevate
the risk. Men who live in
cities north of 40 degrees
latitude (north of Philadelphia,
Pa.; Columbus,
Ohio; and Provo, Utah)
have the highest risk of
dying from prostate cancer,
and researchers feel
this is because men who
live in such cities get less
sunlight during the winter
months and therefore
less vitamin D.
Race is another risk
factor for prostate cancer.
Asian men have the
lowest risk of developing
prostate cancer, while
African-American men
are 60 percent more likely
to develop the disease
than Caucasian men.
The PCF notes that African
American men are
also 2.5 times more likely
to die from the disease,
which highlights the importance
that African-
American men must
place on screenings.
Family history also
plays a role in a man’s
risk for developing prostate
cancer. Men whose
fathers or brothers have
had prostate cancer are
twice as likely to develop
the disease. Their risk increases
even more if their
fathers or brothers were
diagnosed with the cancer
before reaching the age
of 55 or if they had three
or more family members
who were diagnosed with
prostate cancer.
Research into prostate
cancer is ongoing
and continues to unearth
new information re-
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