Prostate Cancer Facts and Figures

Incidence

• In 2004, prostate cancer was the most frequently diagnosed cancer in men in Canada, accounting for 26% of all new cancer cases. The Age Standardized Incidence Rate (ASIR) was 121.3 per 100,000 men in 2004.
• Most cases (80%) of prostate cancer occur in men over the age of 60 years. Incidence rises steeply with age and the highest rates occur in the oldest age groups.

Age standardized incidence rates male prostate cancer, Canada, 1972-2004

• ASIR rose consistently between 1972 and 1990, with an marked increase in the early-1990's, followed by a brief leveling off in the mid-1990s, and another rising trend in the late-1990s.
• Use of the Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) test for the diagnosis of prostate cancer became more widespread in Canada around 1990.

Mortality

• Prostate cancer is the second most common cause of cancer deaths among men, after lung cancer, with 3,685 deaths in Canada in 2004.
• The Age Standardized Mortality Rate (ASMR) significantly increased between 1977 and 1993 (rising by approximately 1.5% per year). Since then the ASMR has decreased by approximately 2.6% per year.

Survival

• The age standardized five year relative survival ratio for prostate cancer increased in the last 15 years from 73% for those diagnosed in mid-1980s to 95% in the early-2000s. Part of this improvement may reflect the effect of lead time and length time bias resulting from the introduction of PSA screening.

* Data source is from the Canadian Cancer Registry Database (Orius system)