Prostate cancer generally affects men over the age of 50, and is rarely found in younger men. Around 32,000 men in the UK are diagnosed with prostate cancer each year. It differs from most other cancers in the body, in that small areas of cancer within the prostate are very common and may not grow or cause any problems for many years.

About one in three men over the age of 50 have some cancer cells within their prostate and nearly all men over the age of 80 have a small area of prostate cancer. Most of these cancers grow extremely slowly and so, particularly in elderly men, will never cause any problems.

In a small proportion of men, the prostate cancer can grow more quickly and in some cases may spread to other parts of the body, particularly the bones.