What are the causes and risks associated with prostate cancer?

What exactly causes prostate cancer is still unknown; however, the scientific community is conducting research with the hope of finding the answer soon.  The current theory is there are many factors  that can increase a man’s risk for prostate cancer.   The following are some factors:

• Age
• Smoking
• World Region Location
• Ethnicity – being African American doubles your risk
• Family History
• Dietary
• Vasectomy
• Vitamins

The disease predominately affects older men and is rarely found in men younger than 40.  Approximately 1 in 35 men will die of prostate cancer with African American’s twice as likely as Caucasian men to die of the disease.  According to the American Cancer Society prostate cancer accounts for about 10 percent of cancer-related deaths in men between the ages of 60 and 79 and nearly 25 percent in those over the age of 80.
As men age, their risk of developing prostate cancer increases.  If you are a heavy smoker, studies have shown that your risk of prostate cancer may double.  The good news is the risks decreases to roughly that of a non-smoker of the same age within 10 years of quitting.
Worldwide, prostate cancer ranks third in cancer incidence and sixth in cancer mortality among men. There is, however, a notable variability in incidence and mortality among world regions. The incidence is low (but rapidly increasing in recent years) in Japan and other Asian countries and intermediate in regions of Central America and Western Africa. The incidence is higher in North America and Northern Europe. However, the higher rates in North America and Northern Europe can be due to the different screening practices, genetic predisposition, diet and environmental factors.
African-Americans are in the highest risk group, with an incidence of more than 200 cases per 100,000 black men.  While the incidence in Caucasian and Asian men is slightly more than half that of blacks, African-American men tend to present with more advanced disease and have poorer overall prognosis than Caucasian or Asian men.
Men with a family history of prostate cancer are at an increased risk of developing the disease, the more first-degree relatives the higher a man’s risk of developing the disease.  In addition, the age of onset the first-degree relatives was diagnosed can increase a man’s risk of developing the disease.  Men with a family history of disease are 2 to 11 times more likely to develop prostate cancer then men without a family history of prostate cancer.
There is also considerable evidence showing a Western lifestyle is associated with increased prostate cancer risk and increased death from prostate cancer. However, which specific lifestyle factor is unknown.  Engaging in excessive calorie, dietary fat and refined sugar intake with reduced fruit and vegetable and exercise activity is shown to increase the risk of prostate cancer, though the relationship is not entirely clear. However, of those the most commonly cited dietary risk factor is a high intake of dietary fat, though that relationship is still unclear.  Being obese is associated also with an increased risk for death from prostate cancer. Thus, the simplest advice for avoiding death from prostate cancer is to prevent obesity and if you are obese, to lose weight and keep it off.
There is a limited amount of evidence to suggest that the worldwide difference in prostate cancer incidence may be associated with dietary intake of soy proteins in other parts of the world. In Asian countries such as Japan and the Republic of Korea where prostate cancer incidence and mortality are just a fraction of that in North America, soy consumption in the form of tofu, soymilk and miso is up to 90 times higher than that consumed in the United States. In a study of more than 40 nations, researchers found soy, on a per calorie basis, to be the most protective dietary factor. This protective role may be associated with two of soy's components, genistein and daidzein that may act as weak estrogens. Estrogens are female hormones that inhibit prostate cancer growth. Some experts have suggested that the worldwide differences in prostate cancer incidence may also be explained by the high intake of green tea by residents of Asia. However, determining which factors from a complex dietary mix cause prostate cancer is not easy and no clear answers have emerged.
The intake of other certain dietary factors such as lycopene and fish oil may also reduce the risk of developing prostate cancer. Cooked tomatoes are rich sources of lycopene. Lycopenes are antioxidants that may protect cells from becoming cancerous. Several studies have shown that the likelihood of developing prostate cancer is reduced by high intake of lycopene. Researchers found men ingesting two or more servings of tomato sauce per week had a 36 percent reduction in cancer risk compared to those who did not, however again, not all studies have supported this. Fish oils (omega-3 fatty acids) are thought to reduce heart disease due to reducing inflammation. Given the presumed importance of inflammation in causing prostate cancer, it stands to reason that fish oils may prevent prostate cancer. Indeed, some studies have suggested this, though others have failed to find any link with prostate cancer risk.
The correlation of vasectomy and prostate cancer risk remains controversial. Although some studies have suggested that men who have undergone a vasectomy are at an increased risk of developing prostate cancer, many other studies have failed to show such a correlation.
Attention has also focused on vitamin D's effect on the prostate. Epidemiologic evidence shows an inverse relationship between prostate cancer risk and ultraviolet radiation, the primary source for vitamin D production. This observation has led some to suggest that higher rates of prostate cancer in the elderly may be partly due to decreased sun exposure or a decline in the body's ability to make vitamin D with aging. However, several recent studies have found no correlation between vitamin D levels and prostate cancer risk and one even found that men with increased vitamin D had a higher risk of aggressive prostate cancer!
Finally, a word of caution is needed. Based upon very exciting data, the National Institute of Health embarked a large randomized trial of over 30,000 men to test whether vitamin E or selenium would prevent prostate cancer. Unfortunately, the trial was stopped early because there was no evidence either agent alone or in combination prevented prostate cancer. Moreover, there was a suggestion that men who took vitamin E had an increased risk of prostate cancer and men who took selenium had a slightly higher risk of diabetes! This highlights the point that there is no easy substitute for a healthy lifestyle involving eating a balanced diet, avoiding dietary excesses, eating plenty of fruits and vegetables, getting lots of exercise, and most importantly achieving and maintaining a normal body weight.
While there are no exact causes of prostate cancer most doctors agree, if you do things that are heart healthy, you will also keep your prostate healthy.  Eating right, exercising, watching your weight and not smoking can improve your health and help them avoid this disease.