Prostate Cancer

This review article discusses the ways in which the environment, diet, and genes contribute to the development of prostate cancer. Some dietary components increase the risk of prostate cancer, whereas other seem to be protective. Studies of familial prostate cancer are beginning to reveal genes that may have a role in the disease, but population studies have not yet pinpointed a major genetic factor. Prostatitis may have an important role in initiating the pathway to prostate cancer.