International Variation in Prostate Cancer Incidence and Mortality Rates

Prostate cancer (PCa) is the second most common cause of cancer and the sixth leading cause of cancer death among men worldwide with an estimated 899 000 new cases and 258 000 new deaths in 2008 [1]. The worldwide PCa burden is expected to grow to 1.7 million new cases and 499 000 new deaths by 2030 simply due to the growth and aging of the global population [1]. The only well-established risk factors for PCa are older age, black race/ethnicity, and a family history of the disease [2]. The wide variation in international PCa incidence rates and trends is in part due to the substantial differences worldwide in the diagnosis of latent cancers through prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing of asymptomatic individuals as well as during prostate surgery. PCa mortality rates and trends are less E U R O P E A N U R O L O G Y 6 1 ( 2 0 1 2 ) 1 0 7 9 – 1 0 9 2