Prostate Cancer and Environmental Exposure

Abstract

Prostate cancer (PC) is the most commonly diagnosed malignancy and the major cause of disease and mortality among men. Every year, around 1.6 million new cases are diagnosed with 366,000 death cases. Different etiologies have been associated to PC incidence including the genetic predisposition as well as the environmental influences. Recently, more interest has been given to the role of food and water contaminations with heavy metals and pesticides as direct carcinogenetic agents, particularly involved in the pathogenesis of PC. The chapter will address the relationship between heavy metals and pesticides exposures, and the development of PC with the support of epidemiological and experimental evidences.