Vanna Dest Discusses the Risk Factors of Prostate Cancer

Vanna Dest, MSN, APRN-BC, AOCN, Oncology Nurse Practitioner/Manager, Oncology APP, Smilow Cancer Hospital, discusses the risk factors of prostate cancer.

Dest says there are numerous factors that may increase the risk of prostate cancer in men. The most reliable risk factors are advancing age, family history, and ethnicity.

African American men have a greater incidence of prostate cancer as well as more aggressive disease. Asian men usually have a low incidence of prostate cancer but when they migrate to the United States, their incidence increases, Dest says.

Researchers have also looked at genetic factors, particularly BRCA1 and BRCA2. Dest says BRCA2 seems to be correlated to an increased risk of prostate cancer. There are other factors that researchers are still looking into, Dest says, such as obesity and diets.

The exposure to Agent Orange also seems to increase the risk of prostate cancer in men, Dest says, as well as some pesticides that are used in the farming industry. Finally, some sexual practices may play a role in increasing a person’s risk for prostate cancer.