Official websites use. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. Recently, a new hypothesis has been proposed for prostate carcinogenesis. By developing new experimental animal models coupled with classical epidemiological studies, genetic epidemiological studies and molecular pathological approaches, we should be able to determine whether prostate cancer is driven by inflammation, and if so, to develop new strategies to prevent the disease.
Prostate cancer is the most common non-cutaneous malignant neoplasm in men in Western countries, responsible for the deaths of approximately 30, men per year in the United States 1. The number of afflicted men is increasing rapidly as the population of males over the age of 50 grows worldwide. Therefore, finding strategies for the prevention of prostate cancer is a crucial medical challenge.
As men in South East Asian countries have a low incidence of prostate cancer that increases rapidly after immigration to the West, this disease is not an intrinsic feature of ageing. The pathogenesis of prostate cancer reflects both hereditary and environmental components. What are the environmental factors and genetic variations that have produced such an epidemic of prostate cancer?
There is also emerging evidence that inflammation is crucial for the aetiology of prostate cancer. This evidence stems from epidemiological, histopathological and molecular pathological studies.
The objective of this Review is to take a multidisciplinary approach to present and analyse such studies. Because several reviews related to these topics have been published 5 โ 7 , here we will focus on new findings and ideas with the purpose of sparking innovative areas of investigation that might ultimately lead to the prevention of prostate cancer.
