Risk Factors

The risk factors for prostate cancer include the following:

• Men over 65.
• Men who eat a high-fat diet, particularly saturated fats.
• Men with a family history of prostate cancer (the risk doubles if a man's father had the disease, and if a brother had it, the risk triples); hereditary prostate cancer typically begins among a cluster of relatives before age 55.
• African-Americans, who have a higher incidence than black men in Africa.
• Possibly, men exposed to such chemicals as cadmium.
• Occupation: rubber industry; cadmium workers.