Risk Factors of Prostate Cancer
All men are at risk of developing prostate cancer. If you are an avid health-news reader, you may be acquainted with a long list of ongoing research claiming new prostate cancer risk factors, as well as new treatment options in drugs like xtandi, relugolix, erleada, lupron, and enzalutamide that may help. The studies range from eating dairy foods and drinking high-sugar drinks to being bald or driving a truck for a living. However, the only risk factors that can be considered established are listed below.
Age
You’re at greater risk if your age is high. Research reveals that prostate cancer risk begins to rise dramatically post 55 years and peaks between 70 and 74 years. Also, prostate cancer has a long induction period, and many men harbor abnormal cell growth in their prostate glands that later become high-risk prostate tumors.
Family past
A man with a family history of prostate cancer is more liable to acquiring the disease and facing the risk. The danger is more with the number of relatives diagnosed and how close the relationships are. If a father and his brother have prostate cancer, the son is likely to develop it too.
Race
There is a 60% higher risk of prostate cancer in African Americans than in white American men. Often when this is diagnosed, cancer tends to have gone to an advanced stage. However, Japanese and African men living in their native countries have a low rate of prostate cancer. Researchers do not know why different races have different risks of prostate cancer, but they think it could be because of certain environmental factors.
Diet
Ecological studies prove that there is a strong correlation between saturated fat and prostate cancer mortality. Men who eat a diet rich in meat and dairy, comprising few fruits and vegetables, are at higher risk of prostate cancer than those whose basic diet includes vegetables, rice, and soybean products.
Obesity
Obesity won’t boost one’s risk of prostate cancer, but it could make one less likely to acquire a low-grade type and be more likely to get an aggressive form. Obese men have a higher chance of getting prostate cancer, even though not all studies agree to this.
Inactive lifestyle
Lack of physical activity does play a small but significant role in contributing to prostate cancer. Since lack of physical activity is often linked to slow metabolism and heightened obesity, it leads to a high risk of prostate cancer.
Genes
Unfortunately, some people are just born with certain gene mutations that make them fall in a high-risk category. BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes raise the odds of breast and ovarian cancer in women and prostate cancer in men.
Lynch syndrome
Non-polyposis colorectal cancer (HNPCC), which is commonly known as Lynch syndrome, is also a gene you are born with. It can increase the odds of getting several types of cancers, including prostate cancer.