September is Prostate Cancer Awareness Month

join with the aacr to HELP find better ways to prevent and treat prostate cancer

Prostate Cancer Awareness Month

Prostate cancer is the most common non-skin cancer diagnosed in men. Furthermore, it’s the second leading cause of cancer deaths in men, after lung cancer.

The prostate is a gland in the male reproductive system located just below the bladder and in front of the rectum. It’s about the size of a walnut and surrounds part of the urethra (the tube that empties urine from the bladder). The prostate gland produces fluid that makes up part of the semen. 

According to the National Cancer Institute (NCI), almost all prostate cancers are adenocarcinomas. These cancers begin in cells that make and release mucus and other fluids. Prostate cancer often has no early symptoms. In addition, advanced prostate cancer can cause men to urinate more often or have a weaker flow of urine. But these symptoms can also result from benign prostate conditions.

screening and incidence

We have effective screening options for prostate cancer, which often catch the disease before it spreads. As a result, survival rates are good for this type of cancer.

The NCI’s Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program estimates that more than 299,010 men in the United States will receive a diagnosis of prostate cancer in 2024. Furthermore, NCI projects that 35,250 men will die of the disease.

Prostate cancer is more common in older men. It is more likely to occur in men with a family history of prostate cancer and in men of African-American descent. Other risk factors include smoking, being overweight, and not getting enough exercise. In the United States, about 11 percent of men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer at some point during their lifetimes.

African-American men have the highest death rate for prostate cancer of any racial or ethnic group in the United States. Statistics show that in 2015-2019, Black men were twice as likely to die from prostate cancer as white men. Scientists believe the disparity stems from both genetic and socioeconomic factors.

one man’s story

For Brian Jones, a diagnosis of prostate cancer was a wake-up call that he should get serious about his health after years of neglecting his body. Read his story in AACR’s magazine Cancer Today: Being Proactive About Prostate Cancer

The LaTEST ON pROSTATE cANCER

  • At the AACR Annual Meeting 2024, Mallorie C. Jones, MA, of the University of Pennsylvania, presented research on myths about prostate cancer in Black communities and how to dispel them. To learn more, see this post on AACR’s official blog, Cancer Research Catalyst.

What the AACR IS Doing in Prostate Cancer Research

In March 2023, the AACR held a Special Conference: Advances in Prostate Cancer Research in Denver, Colorado. This meeting brought together experts from around the world to hear and discuss the latest findings on important topics. These included mechanisms of disease progression, genomic heterogeneity, epigenomic mechanisms, tumor microenvironment and immunotherapy, detection, and diagnosis of prostate cancer.

for more information

Please see our page on prostate cancer for more information about prevention, screening, and treatment.