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7 Reasons Black Men Are Getting Prostate Cancer Earlier & Earlier
It's a problem with not nearly enough attention. Prostate cancer hits men hard all over the world—it's one of the biggest threats out there. But lately, something very concerning has been showing up in the numbers: Black men are getting hit with this diagnosis at younger ages than ever, and the stats are brutal and clear as day.
Black men don't just have a higher chance of getting prostate cancer; they're dealing with the nastier, faster-acting forms way earlier than most. Seven major culprits are behind this, and they're backed by real science, painting a picture that's tough to ignore.
1. Genetic and Biological FactorsGenes and biology are major factors among Black men with this disease, and it's happening younger and younger.
Some studies, like one in Nature Genetics, found abnormalities in the DNA—specifically in a spot called 8q24—that show up more in guys with African roots, acting like a green light for prostate cancer to rev up early.
Plus, higher testosterone levels, pretty common in Black men, might also be increasing cancer cell growth, stacking the odds against them over time.
Of course, there are always ways to stay on top of these issues, and they include getting regular screening and learning more about your family genetic history.
RELATED: Prostate Cancer 101: What Black Men Need To Know Now
2. More Aggressive TumorsThen there are the tumors.
The tumors Black men face aren't just more frequent—they're more aggressive. The American Cancer Society's got the grim scoop: Black men are 1.7 times more likely to get diagnosed and 2.1 times more likely to lose their lives to it compared to White men.
Some research has even found higher Gleason scores of seven or above for many young Black men, indicating a more aggressive cancer.
In other words, increased cancer development, more resistance to treatments, and a greater chance of metastasizing.
RELATED: 6 Rare Risk Factors for Prostate Cancer in Black Men
3. Earlier Risk FactorsRisks like packing on pounds, eating junk, or barely moving are three of the most common that Black men should consider. They're also, thankfully, some of the most basic changes we can make to our daily lives, regardless of race or risk factors.
In fact, the CDC has found higher obesity and diabetes rates among many in their 30s and 40s, which is a general cause of increased inflammation. These risk factors may also contribute to hormonal shifts that then further worsen one's prostate health.
According to one study from Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, signs of metabolic syndrome—obesity, high blood pressure, and so on—were detected at a higher rate in Black men in their 30s and 40s than in other races.
To put it bluntly: it is the perfect storm for cancer to start brewing, long before anyone's even thinking about it.
Healthcare is a nightmare for too many Black men, and most of the time it has nothing to do with their personal health. It's rather a sign of systemic and structural inequalities. Combined with socioeconomic differences, and the lack of quality healthcare can certainly lead to higher rates of undetected or later-treated cancers.
According to the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, a lot of insurance is spotty or nonexistent for many Black men, which makes regular doctor visits or early tests unlikely.
If there is a lack of urologists and oncologists in certain communities, this can dramatically affect the availability of cancer screening, prevention, and treatment.
5. Environmental and Lifestyle InfluencesNasty substances like pesticides or factory fumes—all tied to cancer—lurk around many inner cities and socioeconomically disadvantaged communities. Thanks to old, unfair setups, and food deserts, many Black communities are also flooded with unhealthy, processed foods.
Research has repeatedly linked high-fat, low-nutrient diets to prostate cancer in Black men.
It's a slow burn that shoves the disease right into their younger years, but fortunately, is one that can largely be preventable. Measures should be taken to combat the safety hazards, whether they're environmental pollutants, toxins in the food, or a general lack of healthy alternatives.
RELATED: 6 Unexpected Remedies for Lower PSA in Black Men
6. Lower Screening RatesPSA tests—a simple blood check—can catch prostate cancer before it's a monster, but Black men are missing out.
Research shows that Black men are roughly 20 percent less likely to get that test, thanks to distrust, confusion, or empty pockets. As a result, cancers that may be developing during the 30s or 40s stay off the radar until they're advanced or require urgent treatment.
Fortunately, simply increasing awareness can make it a lot easier to detect potential prostate problems. Black men in particular should get a PSA test by at least 40, or even younger if they are prone to the disease due to family history.
This is one of the simplest things that can be done but it's not!
RELATED: Prostate Cancer: What Role Does Family History Play?
7. Family History and Inherited RiskFamily history's another kick in the gut—prostate cancer loves to stick around in Black men's bloodlines. Roughly five to 10 percent of cases come from genes like BRCA1 and BRCA2, which can lead to dangerous mutations in men.
According to some studies, Black men with a dad or brother who's been impacted are more likely to face the disease at a younger age.
This whole problem—Black men getting prostate cancer younger—comes from a mix of genes, biology, tough breaks, and rough surroundings. The numbers don't lie: higher built-in risk, more aggressive tumors, and premature problems. And then, of course, the simple fact that too many men are still unaware of prostate cancer risks.
All you have to do is consider the preoccupations of everyday life. Whether it's raising kids, holding down a job, dealing with loved ones, or anything else, most men are not thinking about prostate cancer or getting regularly screened.
In communities where competent healthcare is absent, the problem is compounded.
Fortunately, turning this around isn't some far-off dream—it's doable with the right moves. Earlier tests that actually reach Black men, not just sit on a guideline page, could change the game, and fairer healthcare—more doctors, better coverage—would stop cancer from getting a head start.
Messages that hit home, speaking straight to Black families about risks and options, could shift the tide as well.
At the end of the day, it's all about action. Science knows why this is happening; now it's on the world to step up and do something about it.
Nolan Family's Cruel 'cancer Curse' As Brother Brian Reveals Diagnosis
07:10, 22 Mar 2025Updated 18:05, 24 Mar 2025
Brian Nolan, big brother to the Nolan sisters, is the latest in the famous family to reveal he has cancer. The 69-year-old was told he had prostate cancer just three days after the funeral of his sister Linda, which he had courageously helped to plan despite his own ordeal.
The news is the latest 'cancer curse' for the singer siblings, who lost Bernie Nolan, 52, to breast cancer in 2013 before Linda, 65, died on January 15 this year of double pneunmonia, following.A twenty-year battle with the disease. Anne, 74, was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2000 and Coleen, 60, learned she had skin cancer in 2023.
"I just want cancer to leave us alone," said Brian, who went to his GP with urinary issues in November and following his diagnosis, will undergo surgery to remove his prostate gland. "The urologist stood up and said: 'We're going to treat this and we're going to cure this'. I'm focusing on that and hope to god I can have the courage my sisters had."
READ MORE: Coleen Nolan on the 'shock' of Linda's death as she shares update on how family are doing"I couldn't speak," said Loose Women star Coleen of being told her brother had cancer. "I went completely numb and about an hour later I wanted to punch walls and scream. In our family, cancer's just there. But Brian was so positive and I'm just so proud of him."
Brian kept his cancer fears secret for months as his sister Linda's condition deteriorated, to protect his siblings from further anguish. The singer was first told she had the disease in 2005 and went into remission a year later. But in 2017, she devastatingly announced she had been diagnosed with a secondary cancer in her hip, which spread to her liver in 2020.
Three years later, the cancer had spread to her brain. The Daily Mirror Columnist passed away with her sisters at her side and her final moments were said to have been full of 'love and comfort'.
Their father, Tommy Nolan Sr, was the first to be struck by the cruel disease, dying from cancer in 1998. Bernie, Anne, Linda and Coleen later faced diagnoses. "You almost feel like it's a curse that's been on you but it's not. So many families go through this," said Coleen in an emotional episode of Piers Morgan's Life Stories in 2021.
In an exclusive interview as he awaits lifesaving surgery, Brian told how his family, with siblings Tommy, 77, Denise, 72, and Maureen, 70, making up the clan, have been referred to a genetic clinic for testing.
These days, much is known about the factors that can increase an individual's risk, but why is it that the killer condition all too often targets entire families? Here, we take a look at the family's history with cancer as an expert geneticist explains why some families might see similar cases of cancer among members, even if they test negative for well-known genetic defaults such as the BRCA1 and BRCA2 faulty genes, known as the 'Jolie Gene.'
According to Cancer Research UK, most families will have at least one person who has or has had cancer. But having a couple of relatives diagnosed with cancer doesn't mean there is a cancer gene fault running in the family. In families with an inherited faulty gene, there is usually a pattern of specific types of cancer. The strength of your family history depends on: who in your family has had cancer; the types of cancer they have had; how old they were at diagnosis; how closely related the relatives with cancer are to each other.
The more relatives who have had the same or related types of cancer, and the younger they were at diagnosis, the stronger someone's family history is, with it being more likely that the cancers are being caused by an inherited faulty gene. In the case of the Nolan family, who rose to fame after forming the girl group The Nolans in 1974, they have experienced similar cancers. Anne was the first sister to be diagnosed with breast cancer in 2000.
The star was then diagnosed with stage three breast cancer 20 years later in April 2020 and is now in remission after receiving the all-clear. Just days after her second diagnosis, her younger sister Linda found out about her liver cancer - a cancer that their father died from.
This came after Linda was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2005. While she underwent gruelling treatment, her beloved husband Brian Hudson died from skin cancer aged just 60. Brian had worked as the Nolans' tour manager until 1983 and became his wife's manager after she left the group.
Having lost her husband of 26 years, Linda was left in a deep depression while living with breast cancer but was given the all-clear in 2006. But the disease devastatingly returned as incurable secondary breast cancer in her hip in 2017. It was in 2020 that she was found to be suffering from liver cancer. Then, doctors found two sizable tumours surrounded by smaller ones in her brain in 2023.
Meanwhile, their late sister Bernie announced she had been diagnosed with breast cancer in April 2010. In October of the same year, Bernie was declared cancer-free following a mastectomy, chemotherapy and treatment with Herceptin. She announced in February 2012 that she was no longer taking cancer treatment drugs.
However, by the end of October 2012, Bernie's cancer had returned. Doctors told the singer that the disease returned to her left breast, brain, lungs, liver and bones. The star passed at her home in Surrey in July 2013 aged just 52.
In 2023 it was revealed that Loose Women presenter Coleen, 58, had been diagnosed with basal cell carcinoma on her shoulder and melanoma on her face. Speaking with the Mirror in 2020, Linda confirmed that she, Anne, and Bernie tested negative for the BRCA gene mutation.
"Anne had breast cancer first in 2000, then me in 2006, then Bernie in 2010. Then we tested for the BRCA gene mutation and we don't have it, but they did say we'll have a rogue gene somewhere – it's just one they haven't found out about yet. They took our blood so they could use it for testing.
"It's weird because the doctor said it's not just bad luck that three sisters have got breast cancer. There's something not right there, so for the other girls it's very scary. They're doubly aware of checking themselves because they could have this gene that we don't know about."
Speaking to The Mirror, consultant clinical geneticist at The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, Dr Terri McVeigh, explained how families can inherit an alteration in genes that increases their risk of cancer, although some faults are too tricky to test with the current technology.
"Genes are tiny chunks of the DNA genetic code that we inherit from each of our parents. They are tiny structures inside our cells, that carry instructions to make proteins that carry out different jobs in the body," Dr McVeigh explains. "We normally have two copies of most genes, one of which we inherit from our mother and the other which we inherit from our father. We have about 20,000 different genes. Some of these genes work to protect against the development of cancer - called tumour suppressors.
"Certain individuals are born with an inherited risk of cancer, because of an inherited alteration (also known as a variant or mutation) in one of these genes. In people where one copy of the gene is already broken, a cell only has to lose the one remaining copy for cells to start growing unrestrained and for cancer to develop. People from certain ethnic backgrounds may also be at higher cancer risk because some groups have had more genetic changes concentrated in their population over the generations.
"Genetic testing is useful in such families as it can help us identify those relatives at higher risk of developing cancer, and, importantly, allow us to take actions to try to facilitate early detection, or prevention where possible. Very often, even if we suspect a hereditary cause of cancer, genetic testing doesn't identify a genetic alteration.
"A result like this cannot fully exclude the possibility that there may still be inherited risk factors in a family – there may be alterations in genes we don't routinely test yet, or there may be tricky parts of the gene that cannot be easily tested by current technology." Dr McVeigh also highlighted how non-genetic risk factors can come into play, such as shared environmental exposures. In cases where a genetic alteration isn't identified, doctors may recommend extra screening depending on the family history.
At the Royal Marsden, a screening programme has begun to detect so-called germline cancer predisposition genes in high-risk populations before a cancer develops, so that patients with a mutated gene can be followed to make sure a tumour is detected early.
The NHS England Genomic Medicine service also offers genetic testing of patients who have already developed cancer. The expert adds: "Cancer genetics is a really rapidly moving area of medicine, and there may be an opportunity for additional genetic testing in the future as our knowledge grows."
Cancer Research UK warns that you may have a strong family history if some of the following situations apply to you: cancers developed when the family members were young, multiple close relatives on the same side of your family have had cancer, the relatives have had the same type of cancer, or different cancers that can be caused by the same gene fault, one of your relatives has had a gene fault found by genetic tests.
Nicola Smith, senior health information manager at Cancer Research UK, said: "Only roughly 5-10 per cent of cancer diagnoses are linked to an inherited faulty gene from a parent.
"Faulty genes aren't always passed on to children, but even when they are it doesn't mean that a person will definitely get cancer - they just have a higher risk of developing particular types of cancer than other people. It's a much less common cause of cancer than ageing or other factors, such as smoking.
"However, if people are concerned that they have a strong family history of cancer - for example, if multiple relatives have had the same type of cancer at a young age - then they can talk to their GP. If the doctor thinks that someone might be at increased risk, they can refer them to a genetics clinic."
Whatever people living with cancer need to ask about cancer, work, money or life. The big things and the small stuff. Macmillan is at the end of the phone and online to provide support. Call the Macmillan Support Line on 0808 808 00 00 or visit macmillan.Org.Uk and ask anything.
RNA Modification Fuels Prostate Cancer Progression
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Scientists at the UCLA Health Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center and the University of Toronto have revealed how a tiny chemical modification in RNA, known as m6A, plays a critical role in the progression of prostate cancer, including driving some of its most dangerous forms of the disease.
In the most comprehensive analysis yet of m6A in prostate cancer, researchers mapped these modifications across 162 prostate cancer tumors and found that m6A patterns were closely tied to how aggressive a tumor was. In some cases, they acted like a molecular fingerprint, marking cancers that were more likely to grow quickly and spread. In others, the m6A tags appeared to be active players, helping cancer cells multiply, migrate and invade new tissue.
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Subscribe for FREEOne of the key discoveries involved a gene called VCAN, which produces a protein linked to tumor growth. When m6A tags were added to VCAN's RNA, the cancer became more aggressive and more likely to metastasize. Targeting these modifications could offer a new way to slow down or stop the disease.
The researchers also found m6A modifications can act as biomarkers to predict disease behavior, suggesting that analyzing m6A tags could help doctors determine how a patient's prostate cancer will behave and whether it's likely to be slow-growing or aggressive.
BackgroundProstate cancer remains one of the leading causes of cancer-related deaths among men, with treatment outcomes varying widely. While much focus has been placed on genetic mutations in the DNA, recent research has pointed to the importance of post-transcriptional modifications, which are chemical changes made to RNA molecules, as critical regulators of cancer behavior. One of the most abundant and significant modifications in RNA is m6A, which influences RNA processing, stability, and translation into proteins. However, its role in cancer—particularly prostate cancer—has not been fully understood.
ImpactBy focusing on m6A modifications, the study paves the way for more accurate predictions of cancer aggressiveness and more personalized treatment strategies. The findings suggest that m6A patterns could serve as biomarkers to help doctors determine how likely a prostate cancer tumor is to grow or spread. They also highlight potential new therapies that target m6A modifications, particularly on genes like VCAN, to prevent cancer progression and metastasis.
Reference: Xu X, Zhu H, Hugh-White R, et al. The landscape of N6-methyladenosine in localized primary prostate cancer. Nat Genet. 2025:1-15. Doi: 10.1038/s41588-025-02128-y
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