Causes of Prostate Cancer

Prostate Cancer as a symptom:

Conditions listing Prostate Cancer as a symptom may also be potential underlying causes of Prostate Cancer. Our database lists the following as having Prostate Cancer as a symptom of that condition:

• Li-Fraumeni syndrome
• Prostate cancer, hereditary, 1
• Prostate cancer, hereditary, 10
• Prostate cancer, hereditary, 11
• Prostate cancer, hereditary, 12
• Prostate cancer, hereditary, 13
• Prostate cancer, hereditary, 14
• Prostate cancer, hereditary, 15
• Prostate cancer, hereditary, 2
• Prostate cancer, hereditary, 3
• Prostate cancer, hereditary, 4
• Prostate cancer, hereditary, 5
• Prostate cancer, hereditary, 6
• Prostate cancer, hereditary, 7
• Prostate cancer, hereditary, 8
• Prostate cancer, hereditary, 9
• Prostate cancer, hereditary, X-linked 1
• Prostate cancer, hereditary, X-linked 2

Medications or substances causing Prostate Cancer:

The following drugs, medications, substances or toxins are some of the possible causes of Prostate Cancer as a symptom. This list is incomplete and various other drugs or substances may cause your symptoms. Always advise your doctor of any medications or treatments you are using, including prescription, over-the-counter, supplements, herbal or alternative treatments.

• Testosterone
• Androderm Transdermal System
• Androgel
• Striant
• Testin
• more drugs...»

See full list of 11 medications causing Prostate Cancer

What causes Prostate Cancer?

Article excerpts about the causes of Prostate Cancer:
Some aspects of a man's lifestyle may affect his chances of developing prostate cancer. For example, some evidence suggests a link between diet and this disease. These studies show that prostate cancer is more common in populations that consume a high-fat diet (particularly animal fat), and in populations that have diets lacking certain nutrients. Although it is not known whether a diet low in fat will prevent prostate cancer, a low-fat diet may have many other health benefits.

Some research suggests that high levels of testosterone may increase a man's risk of prostate cancer. The difference between racial groups in prostate cancer risk could be related to high testosterone levels, but it also could result from diet or other lifestyle factors.

Researchers also are looking for changes in genes that may increase the risk for developing prostate cancer. They are studying the genes of men who were diagnosed with prostate cancer at a relatively young age (less than 55 years old) and the genes of families who have several members with the disease. Much more work is needed, however, before scientists can say exactly how changes in these genes are related to prostate cancer. Men with a family history of prostate cancer who are concerned about an inherited risk for this disease should talk with their doctor. The doctor may suggest seeing a health professional trained in genetics. (Source: excerpt from What You Need To Know About Prostate Cancer: NCI)

Medical news summaries relating to Prostate Cancer:

The following medical news items are relevant to causes of Prostate Cancer:

• Cancer deaths take over deaths caused by heart disease
• Chemical signals involved in cancer causes found
• Chemical used in manufacture of some plastics may promote prostate cancer growth
• Colorectal cancer risk reduced in women through calcium consumption
• Cow's milk may be the key to many of western society's health problems
• Government advisors advise of possible link between prostate cancer and pesticides
• Kidney stone risk increased by obesity
• Male cancers influenced by breast cancer gene
• New Dietary Guidelines support numerous research results
• Pregnancy diet could increase the risk of cancer in offspring
• Promiscuity linked to prostate cancer
• Prostate cancer active surveillance
• Prostate cancer often caused by lack of exposure to natural sunlight
• Prostate cancer risk reduced in diabetics
• Prostate cancer risk reduced in patients with long term diabetes
• South African cancer risks being defined by research
• Soy, vitamin E and folate are essential for prevention of certain cancers
• Statins use with cholesterol and cancer
• Studies increasingly pointing to diet as a culprit for cancer
• Superior health within everybody's reach claims a holistic nutritionist
• Testicle removal to treat prostate cancer may increase osteoporosis risk
• Weighty issue for men
• More news »

Related information on causes of Prostate Cancer:

As with all medical conditions, there may be many causal factors. Further relevant information on causes of Prostate Cancer may be found in:

• Risk factors for Prostate Cancer
• Medications that may cause Prostate Cancer
• Genetics of Prostate Cancer
• Hidden causes of Prostate Cancer

Causes of Prostate Cancer: Online Medical Books

16 MEDICAL BOOKS ONLINE! Review excerpts from medical books online, free, without registration, for more information about the causes of Prostate Cancer.

Prostatic cancer: Causes and incidence
(Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition))

Four factors have been suspected in the development of prostatic cancer: family or racial predisposition, exposure to environmental elements, co-existing sexually transmitted diseases, and endogenous hormonal influence. Eating fat-containing animal products has also been implicated. Although androgens regulate prostate growth and function and may also speed tumor growth, no definite link between increased androgen levels and prostatic cancer has been found. When primary prostatic lesions metastasize, they typically invade the prostatic capsule and spread along the ejaculatory ducts in the space between the seminal vesicles or perivesicular fascia.

Incidence is highest in Blacks and lowest in Asians. In fact, Black Americans have the highest prostate cancer incidence in the world and are considered at high risk for the disease. Incidence also increases with age more rapidly than any other cancer.

» READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »

Source: Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition), 2005

Benign prostatic hyperplasia: Causes and incidence
(Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition))

Evidence suggests a link between BPH and hormonal activity. As males age, production of androgenic hormones decreases, causing an imbalance in androgen and estrogen levels, and high levels of dihydrotestosterone, the main prostatic intracellular androgen. Other causes include neoplasm, arteriosclerosis, diabetes, inflammation, and metabolic or nutritional disturbances.

Whatever the cause, BPH begins with changes in periurethral glandular tissue. As the prostate enlarges, it may extend into the bladder and obstruct urinary outflow by compressing or distorting the prostatic urethra. BPH may also cause a pouch to form in the bladder that retains urine when the rest of the bladder empties. This retained urine may lead to calculus formation or cystitis.

The likelihood of developing an enlarged prostate increases with age. A small amount of prostate enlargement is present in many males older than age 40 and more than 90% of males older than age 80. It’s estimated that by 2006, 115 million men age 50 and older will develop BPH. Blacks, with an incidence rate of 224.3 cases per 100,000 people, are at the greatest risk, present with more advanced disease, and have a poorer diagnosis. Whites, by comparison, have an incidence of 150.3 cases per 100,000 people while Asians have an incidence of 82.2 cases per 100,000 people.

» READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »

Source: Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition), 2005

Introduction: Malignant Neoplasms: What causes cancer?
(Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition))

Researchers have found that cancer develops from mutations within the genes of cells. Thus, cancer is a genetic disease. Cancer susceptibility genes are of two types. Some are oncogenes, which activate cell division and influence embryonic development, and some are tumor suppressor genes, which halt cell division.

These genes are typically found in normal human cells, but certain kinds of mutations may transform the normal cells. Inherited defects may cause a genetic mutation, whereas exposure to a carcinogen may cause an acquired mutation. Current evidence indicates that carcinogenesis results from a complex interaction of carcinogens and accumulated mutations in several genes.

In animal studies of the ability of viruses to transform cells, some human viruses exhibit carcinogenic potential. For example, the Epstein-Barr virus, the cause of infectious mononucleosis, has been linked to Burkitt's lymphoma and nasopharyngeal cancer.

High-frequency radiation, such as ultraviolet and ionizing radiation, damages the genetic material known as deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), possibly inducing genetically transferable abnormalities. Other factors, such as a person's tissue type and hormonal status, interact to potentiate radiation's carcinogenic effect. Examples of substances that may damage DNA and induce carcinogenesis include:

❑alkylating agents — leukemia

❑aromatic hydrocarbons and benzopyrene (from polluted air) — lung cancer

❑asbestos — mesothelioma of the lung

❑tobacco — cancer of the lung, oral cavity and upper airways, esophagus, pancreas, kidneys, and bladder

❑vinyl chloride — angiosarcoma of the liver.

Diet has also been implicated, especially in the development of GI cancer as a result of a high animal fat diet. Additives composed of nitrates and certain methods of food preparation — particularly charbroiling — are also recognized factors.

The role of hormones in carcinogenesis is still controversial, but it seems that excessive use of some hormones, especially estrogen, produces cancer in animals. Also, the synthetic estrogen diethylstilbestrol causes vaginal cancer in some daughters of women who were treated with it. It's unclear, however, whether changes in human hormonal balance retard or stimulate cancer development.

Some forms of cancer and precancerous lesions result from genetic predisposition either directly (as in Wilms' tumor and retinoblastoma) or indirectly (in association with inherited conditions such as Down syndrome or immunodeficiency diseases). Expressed as autosomal recessive, X-linked, or autosomal dominant disorders, their common characteristics include:

❑early onset of malignant disease

❑increased incidence of bilateral cancer in paired organs (breasts, adrenal glands, kidneys, and eighth cranial nerve [acoustic neuroma])

❑increased incidence of multiple primary malignancies in nonpaired organs

❑abnormal chromosome complement in tumor cells.

» READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »

Source: Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition), 2005

Prostatitis: Causes and incidence
(Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition))

About 80% of bacterial prostatitis cases result from infection by Escherichia coli; the rest are due to infection by Klebsiella, Enterobacter, Proteus, Pseudomonas, Streptococcus, or Staphylococcus. These organisms probably spread to the prostate by the bloodstream or from ascending urethral infection, invasion of rectal bacteria via lymphatics, reflux of infected bladder urine into the prostate ducts or, less commonly, infrequent or excessive sexual intercourse or such procedures as cystoscopy or catheterization. Chronic prostatitis usually results from bacterial invasion from the urethra.

It’s estimated that 2 of every 10,000 people who seek outpatient care do so because of prostatitis. As many as 35% of males older than age 50 have chronic prostatitis; about 50% of males will be diagnosed with prostatitis at some point in their lives.

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Source: Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition), 2005

Malignant spinal neoplasms: Causes and incidence
(Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition))

Primary tumors of the spinal cord may be extramedullary (occurring outside the spinal cord) or intramedullary (occurring within the cord itself). Extramedullary tumors may be intradural (meningiomas and schwannomas), which account for 60% of all primary malignant spinal cord neoplasms, or extradural (metastatic tumors from breasts, lungs, prostate, leukemia, or lymphomas), which account for 25% of these malignant neoplasms.

Intramedullary tumors, or gliomas (astrocytomas or ependymomas), are comparatively rare, accounting for only about 10%. In children, they're low-grade astrocytomas.

Spinal cord tumors are rare compared with intracranial tumors (ratio of 1:4). They occur equally in men and women, with the exception of meningiomas, which occur mostly in women. Spinal cord tumors can occur anywhere along the length of the cord or its roots.

» READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »

Source: Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition), 2005

Prostate Abnormality: Differential Overview
(Field Guide to Bedside Diagnosis)

❑ Benign prostatic hypertrophy

❑ Acute bacterial prostatitis

❑ Chronic prostatitis

❑ Adenocarcinoma

❑ Prostatic calculus

❑ Prostatic abscess

» READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »

Source: Field Guide to Bedside Diagnosis, 2007

Prostatic cancer: Causes
(Handbook of Diseases)

Although androgens regulate prostate growth and function and may also speed tumor growth, no definite link between increased androgen levels and prostatic cancer has been found. When primary prostatic lesions metastasize, they typically invade the prostatic capsule and spread along the ejaculatory ducts in the space between the seminal vesicles or perivesicular fascia.

Prostatic cancer accounts for about 18% of all cancers. The incidence is highest in Blacks and lowest in Asians. Incidence also increases with age more rapidly than any other cancer.

» READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »

Source: Handbook of Diseases, 2003

Benign prostatic hyperplasia: Causes
(Handbook of Diseases)

Recent evidence suggests a link between BPH and hormonal activity. As men age, production of androgenic hormones decreases, causing an imbalance in androgen and estrogen levels and high levels of dihydrotestosterone, the main prostatic intracellular androgen. Other causes include neoplasm, arteriosclerosis, inflammation, and metabolic or nutritional disturbances.

Whatever the cause, BPH begins with changes in periurethral glandular tissue. As the prostate enlarges, it may extend into the bladder and obstruct urinary outflow by compressing or distorting the prostatic urethra. BPH may also cause a pouch to form in the bladder that retains urine when the rest of the bladder empties. This retained urine may lead to calculus formation or cystitis.

» READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »

Source: Handbook of Diseases, 2003

Prostatitis: Causes
(Handbook of Diseases)

About 80% of bacterial prostatitis cases result from infection by Escherichia coli; the rest, from infection by Klebsiella, Enterobacter, Proteus, Pseudo-monas, Streptococcus, or Staphylococcus. These organisms probably spread to the prostate by the bloodstream or from ascending urethral infection, invasion of rectal bacteria via lymphatics, reflux of infected bladder urine into prostate ducts or, less commonly, infrequent or excessive sexual intercourse or such procedures as cystoscopy or catheterization. Chronic prostatitis usually results from bacterial invasion from the urethra. It’s a major cause of recurrent UTI in men.

» READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »

Source: Handbook of Diseases, 2003