The prostate (pros-tate) is a gland found only in men. The prostate is about the size of a walnut. It is just below the bladder and in front of the rectum. The tube that carries urine (the urethra) runs through the prostate. The prostate contains cells that make some of the seminal fluid. This fluid protects and nourishes the sperm.

Male hormones cause the prostate gland to develop in the fetus. The prostate keeps on growing as a boy grows to manhood. If male hormone levels are low, the prostate gland will not grow to full size. In older men, though, the part of the prostate around the urethra often keeps on growing. This causes BPH (benign prostatic hyperplasia) which can result in problems with urinating.

Although there are several cell types in the prostate, nearly all prostate cancers start in the gland cells. This kind of cancer is known as adenocarcinoma. The rest of this information refers only to prostate adenocarcinoma.

Most of the time, prostate cancer grows slowly. Autopsy studies show that many older men who died of other diseases also had prostate cancer that neither they nor their doctor were aware of. But sometimes prostate cancer can grow and spread quickly. Even with the latest methods, it is hard to tell which prostate cancers will grow slowly and which will grow quickly.

Some doctors believe that prostate cancer begins with very small changes in the size and shape of the prostate gland cells. These changes are known as PIN (prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia). These changes can be either low-grade (almost normal) or high-grade (abnormal). If you have had a prostate biopsy that showed high-grade PIN, there is a greater chance that there are cancer cells in your prostate. For this reason, you will be watched carefully and may need another biopsy.

Prostate cancer is the most common type of cancer found in American men, other than skin cancer. The American Cancer Society estimates that there will be about 218,890 new cases of prostate cancer in the United States in 2007. About 27,050 men will die of this disease. Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in men. Lung cancer is the first. While 1 man in 6 will get prostate cancer during his lifetime, only 1 man in 34 will die of this disease. The death rate for prostate cancer is going down, and the disease is being found earlier as well.

Source: American Cancer Society Website Revised: 05/02/2006

Fast Facts about Prostate Cancer

• 1 in 6 men is at a lifetime risk of prostate cancer.
• A man with one close relative with the disease has double the risk. With two close relatives, his risk is five-fold. With three, the chance is 97%.
• Two men every five minutes are diagnosed with prostate cancer.
• African American males have a prostate cancer incidence rate up to 60% higher than while males and double the mortality (death) rate of white males. Every 100 minutes an African American male dies from prostate cancer.
• Men with a body mass index over 32.5 have about a one-third greater risk of dying from prostate cancer than men who are not obese.
• Prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in American males today.
• Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in the United States.
• Prostate cancer is mainly found in men age 55 or over with an average age of 70 at the time of diagnosis.
• Majority of deaths from prostate cancer are related to advanced disease with metastases.

Source: Us TOO website. www.ustoo.org

The Facts about African American Men and Prostate Cancer
*U.S. Congressman Gregory Meeks (D-NY) introduced legislation ( H. Res.288 ) into the House Of Representatives designating prostate cancer among African American men as an epidemic condition on March 29th, 2007. This Bill has 100 co-sponsors.

• More than 30,870 cases of prostate cancer are expected to occur among African American men in 2007, accounting for approximately 37% of all cancers diagnosed in this population.
• From 2000-2003, the prostate cancer incidence rate was on average 60% higher in African American men than in white men.
• Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in African American men.
• African American men have the highest mortality rate of any ethnic and racial group in the United States. The death rate from prostate cancer is 2.4 times higher in African American men than in white men.
• African Americans are more likely to be diagnosed at later stage of cancers than whites, which could be due to factors such as less knowledge about cancer symptoms, and/or reduced access to cancer screening services.
• For African Americans, later stage diagnosis at detection contributes to lower cure rates and shorter survival.

Source: Prostate Health Education Network.