[Cancer of the prostate. 1. Epidemiology]

Prostatic cancer is the second most frequent cancer in men in France. It is a serious disease with a relative 5-year survival of 42%. Although the incidence of latent forms appears to be constant throughout the world, the incidence of clinical forms varies from country to country and according to race. These aspects are in favour of a dual mechanism of prostatic carcinogenesis: initiation of a cellular modification, which may be transmitted genetically according to an autosomal dominant mode, but whose expression may be influenced by the environment, and successive steps of transformation (epigenetic factors) which are essentially environment-dependent. The main identified risk factors essentially consist of a direct family history, age and a diet rich in animal fats. In contrast, neither the presence of benign prostatic hypertrophy, nor the characteristics of the sex life or a history of vasectomy appear to influence the incidence of prostatic cancer. The main epidemiological data currently available are presented.