What causes prostate cancer?

While it is not clear what causes prostate cancer, there are certain risk factors including age, family history of prostate cancer, obesity and ethnicity. In Singapore, Chinese men have double the risk of getting prostate cancer compared to Malay or Indian men.

What are the risk factors for prostate cancer?

Some of the risk factors that are known to increase the risk of developing prostate cancer are:

• Age - This is the strongest risk factor. Men above the age of 50 are at risk and the risk increases with age. 
• Ethnicity - In Singapore, Chinese men have double the risk of getting prostate cancer compared to Malay or Indian men.
• Family history - Men with a father or brother with prostate cancer are more likely to get the disease. The risk is higher for men who have a brother with prostate cancer than for those with an affected father. Risk is also much higher for men with several affected family members, especially if they were young when the prostate cancer was detected.
• Diet - Men who consume large amounts of fat, particularly from red meat and other sources of animal fat, including dairy products.