Cancer statistics: Prostate

Prostate cancer: Incidence

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men in the UK. In 2008, 37, 010 men were diagnosed with prostate cancer.

This type of cancer does not affect women, as they do not have a prostate.

Prostate cancer: Mortality

Prostate cancer is the second most common cause of cancer death in the UK. In 2009, 10,397 men died of prostate cancer.

Proportion preventable

Scientists estimate the following proportion of prostate cancer cases could be prevented in the UK:

Lifestyle factor	Does doing more increase or decrease risk?	Approximate % preventable in UK through healthy changes
Foods containing lycopene	Decrease	20

Lycopene is a substance that occurs in tomatoes and other red fruits and vegetables.

The evidence also shows that diets high in calcium are probably a risk factor for prostate cancer.

You can find out more about how these preventability estimates were calculated. For detailed information about what change would be needed for each factor, download Appendix A of the Policy Report on the Diet and Cancer Report website.

The figures on incidence and mortality come from the following sources: for England (incidence); for Wales (incidence); for England and Wales (mortality); for Scotland; and for Northern Ireland.