TOPLINE:
Men at higher genetic risk for prostate cancer had more than a threefold increased risk for early death from the disease, and about one third of these deaths may have been preventable through healthy lifestyle choices, a new analysis found.
METHODOLOGY:
- About one third of men die from prostate cancer before age 75, highlighting the need for prevention strategies that target high-risk populations.
- In the current study, researchers analyzed data from two prospective cohort studies — the Malmö Diet and Cancer Study (MDCS) and the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study (HPFS) — which included 19,607 men with a median age at inclusion of 59 years (MDCS) and 65.1 years (HPFS) followed from 1991 to 2019.
- Participants were categorized by genetic risk and lifestyle score. Genetic risk was defined using a multiancestry polygenic risk score (PRS) for overall prostate cancer that included 400 genetic risk variants.
- A healthy lifestyle score was defined as 3-6, while an unhealthy lifestyle score was 0-2. Lifestyle factors included smoking, weight, phy