[Factors associated with cancer of the prostate]

An epidemiological case-control study was performed to know the factors involved in the development of prostatic cancer. Ninety patients diagnosed of prostatic cancer in La Paz Hospital (Madrid) from January, 1981 to December, 1987, comprised the study group. The controls were 180 male patients from the same hospital and with no personal or familial antecedents of urologic disease or malignant tumours. The cases and controls were matched by age, and year of admission to the hospital. The results of the study revealed that the disease is strongly associated to familial antecedents of prostatic cancer. The risk for the patients with these antecedents is 3.14. The disease was statistically associated to a fatherhood of more than 5 children. No association between the disease and antecedents of tonsillectomy, rheumatic fever, educational level, place of residence, or marital status was found.