Prostate cancer incidence climbs: What to know

Following almost a decade of decline, prostate cancer incidence in the U.S. increased 3.0% per year between 2014 through 2021, according to a report published Sept. 2 in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians. Incidence of advanced-stage prostate cancer at diagnosis had the highest rate of increase at about 4.7% per year.

At the same time, prostate cancer mortality continued to decline, though at a slower rate than the previous two decades. Prostate cancer mortality declined by 0.06% over the past decade, compared to the 3% to 4% annual decline seen in the late 20th and into the early 21st centuries.

For the report, researchers analyzed cancer incidence and mortality data collected by the CDC and the National Cancer Institute through 2021 and 2023, respectively.

Here are seven things to know:

1. In 2025, researchers estimate 313,780 people will be diagnosed with prostate cancer and 35,770 will die from the disease.
   

2. Prostate cancer accounts for 30% of all male cancers and is the second-leading cause of cancer death for men, behind lung cancer.
   
   
3. Distant-stage disease incidence of prostate cancer, meaning cancer cells have spread from the primary tumor site to other areas of the body, increased by about 3% per year among men younger than 55 and 6% per year among men 55 and older.
   
   
4. The five-year relative survival rate for distant-stage prostate cancer is 38%.
   
   Among earlier-stage diagnoses, five-year prostate cancer survival rates can be near 100%, according to a Sept. 2 news release from the American Cancer Society.
   
   
5. Black men had a 67% higher incidence rate and a twofold higher prostate cancer mortality rate compared to white men.
   
   Native American men had a 13% lower incidence rate and a 12% higher prostate cancer mortality rate compared to white men.
   
   
6. Prostate cancer mortality ranges among racial and ethnic groups were as follows:
   
   
   • 36.9 deaths per 100,000 for Black men
     
   • 20.6 deaths per 100,000 for American Indian and Alaska Native men 
     
   • 18.4 deaths per 100,000 for White men 
     
   • 15.4 deaths per 100,000 for Hispanic men
     
   • 8.8 deaths per 100,000 for Asian American and Pacific Islander men
     
     
7. The District of Columbia and Mississippi had the highest prostate cancer death rates at 27.5 deaths per 100,000 and 24.8 deaths per 100,000, respectively.
    

Read the full report here.