31st December 2024

Overview of prostate cancer

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men in the UK, and the second most common cancer in men globally. It represents a spectrum of disease from small well-differentiated tumours which may never become clinically significant to rarer high-grade tumours which are more aggressive and carry high morbidity and mortality.

Risk factors include age (rare in those aged less than 50), ethnicity (more common in Black men, uncommon in Asian men) and family history. There are no well-established links to any modifiable risk factors.