Prostate Cancer Statistics

The following statistics related to prostate cancer :

• Prostate cancer is the most common cancer among men, excluding skin cancer .
  
  
• The American Cancer Society (American Cancer Society , ACS ) estimates that by the year 2003, 220.900 new cases of diagnosed prostate cancer in the United States.
  
  
• Estimates for 2003 estimated 28.900 deaths from prostate cancer in the U.S. alone , making this the second leading cause of cancer death in men.

• All men are at risk for prostate cancer. The risk increases with age, and family history also increases the risk .
  
  
• African American men , the incidence rate of prostate cancer is about 60 percent higher than in Caucasian men and the mortality rate is approximately double that of Caucasian men.
  

According to the National Cancer Institute , if current rates continue, the likelihood that a man develops prostate cancer :

• from birth to 39 years old: 1 in 10,000
  
  
• from 40 to 59 years old: 1 in 45
  
  
• from 60 to 79 years old: 1 in 7
  
  
• from birth until the day of his death: 1 in 6

These statistics are from Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program, a continuing project of the National Cancer Institute.

The SEER Program collects cancer information routinely for cancer registries designated based on population in several areas of the country. The trend in cancer incidence, mortality and patient survival in the United States and many other studies , are derived from this database .

The SEER Program objectives include:

Gather and report regularly the calculations of prostate problems cancer incidence and mortality in the United States.

Monitor trends in the annual incidence of cancer to identify unusual changes in specific forms of cancer occurring in population subgroups defined by geographic, demographic and social .

Provide continuous information about changes that occur with time in the extent of disease at diagnosis , trends in therapy and associated changes in patient survival .

Promoting studies designed to identify factors amenable to interventions for cancer control , including:

a) The environmental, occupational , socioeconomic and health-related diet .

b ) screening practices , early detection and treatment.

c ) determinants of the duration and quality of patient survival .