The short answer
Prostate cancer risk rises with age and is higher for people with a family history and for Black men. Most prostate cancers grow slowly. Knowing your risk helps you discuss screening with your doctor.
Age is the biggest risk factor. Prostate cancer is rare before age 40 and the risk rises sharply after 50.
A family history of prostate cancer raises risk.
Black men have a higher risk and tend to be diagnosed at younger ages.
Some inherited gene changes, like BRCA2, raise risk.
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The whole article, with every detail and caution.
This page is for men, and the people who care about them, who want to know what raises the chance of prostate cancer. It covers the main risk factors, the less certain ones, and how risk affects when to talk about screening.
What raises the risk
A risk factor is anything that raises the chance of getting a disease. It is not a guarantee. Most men with several prostate cancer risk factors never get it, and some men with none of them do. Three things stand out as the strongest: age, race, and family history.
Age is the biggest factor
The American Cancer Society says prostate cancer is rare in men younger than 40. After age 50, the chance rises sharply. About 6 in 10 prostate cancers are found in men older than 65. Age is one risk factor you cannot change.
Race and ancestry
Black men, including men of Caribbean African ancestry, get prostate cancer more often than men of other races. They also tend to be diagnosed at younger ages. Asian American, Hispanic, and Latino men have lower rates than non-Hispanic white men. Scientists do not fully understand why these differences exist. Researchers are still studying the reasons.
Family history
Having a father or brother with prostate cancer more than doubles your risk. A brother's diagnosis raises risk more than a father's does. Risk rises further if multiple relatives were affected, especially if they were diagnosed young.
Inherited gene changes
A small share of prostate cancers are tied to inherited gene changes. Changes (mutations) in BRCA1 or BRCA2 raise risk. So does Lynch syndrome. If prostate cancer or related cancers run in your family, ask your doctor whether genetic counseling could help.
Factors that are less certain
The American Cancer Society says studies of the following have given mixed results, and none has been consistently linked to prostate cancer risk:
- Dairy products
- Soy and coffee
- Obesity
- Smoking
- Vasectomy
- Chemicals such as arsenic or Agent Orange
None of these should be treated as settled risk factors the way age, race, and family history are.
What you can and cannot change
You cannot change your age, race, or family history. What you can do is make sure your doctor knows about them, since they affect decisions about PSA testing and how early to start. If you have a strong family history or a known inherited mutation, ask about genetic counseling and about when to start screening conversations.
How risk changes when to start screening talks
The American Cancer Society ties its screening-conversation recommendations directly to these risk factors. The American Cancer Society suggests men at average risk start the conversation at 50, if they are expected to live at least 10 more years. Black men, and men with a father or brother diagnosed before age 65, are advised to start at 45. Men with more than one close relative diagnosed young are advised to start at 40. These are not ages to get a test automatically — they are ages to have an informed conversation with a doctor about whether testing makes sense for you.
What to ask your team
- Given my age, race, and family history, when should I start talking about PSA testing?
- Does my family history suggest genetic counseling would help?
- Should my relatives be told about my diagnosis or risk factors, in case it affects their own screening?
- What symptoms should prompt me to call you, regardless of my risk level?
Sources
Common questions
Who is at higher risk?
Risk rises with age and is higher for men with a family history of prostate cancer and for Black men. Some inherited gene changes, such as BRCA2, also raise risk.
At what age does risk rise?
Prostate cancer is rare before age 40, and the risk rises sharply after age 50. About 6 in 10 cases are found in men older than 65.
Does family history matter?
Yes. Having a father or brother with prostate cancer more than doubles your risk, and the risk is higher if several relatives were affected or diagnosed young.
How does risk affect screening?
The American Cancer Society suggests that men at higher risk start the screening conversation earlier, at 45 or 40 depending on risk. Talk with your doctor about your risk and the pros and cons of screening.
Questions to ask your doctor
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Last updated: 2026-10-02Next planned review: 2027-07-07
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Cancer Explained does not originate medical claims. Every page restates guidance already published by the National Cancer Institute, the CDC, the USPSTF and the FDA, in plain language, with the source cited so you can check the original yourself. AI does the translating and organizing; automated checks test claims, citations, clarity and safety before anything publishes, and this is translation and navigation, not clinical judgment. Nothing here is personal medical advice, and no page can account for your particular situation.
Editorial status: Source checked — This page was written with AI assistance and then compared with the sources listed on it, looking for statements those sources do not back up. That check is not a sentence-by-sentence record and can miss errors. It is not a medical review, and it does not confirm the page is complete or right for your situation.
Human medical review: not completed. Pages here are not signed off by a clinician before they publish. That is not an oversight we are quietly working around: we restate published guidance and cite it, so the authority belongs to the source rather than to us, and every page names where its claims come from — you can verify us instead of trusting us. Where a volunteer clinician has reviewed a page, their name and credentials appear on it; where no name appears, no clinician has checked it. We are glad to have reviewers and are recruiting them, and we do not hold pages back waiting for one. Use this site to understand your situation and to ask better questions of the people treating you.
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