Prostate cancer is one of the most common male cancers globally; however little is known about prostate cancer in Africa.
Incidence data for prostate cancer in South Africa (SA) from the pathology based National Cancer Registry (1986–2006) and data
on mortality (1997–2009) from Statistics SA were analysed. World standard population denominators were used to calculate age
specific incidence and mortality rates (ASIR and ASMR) using the direct method. Prostate cancer was the most common male
cancer in all SA population groups (excluding basal cell carcinoma). There are large disparities in the ASIR between black, white,
coloured, and Asian/Indian populations: 19, 65, 46, and 19 per 100 000, respectively, and ASMR was 11, 7, 52, and 6 per 100 000,
respectively. Prostate cancer was the second leading cause of cancer death, accounting for around 13% of male deaths from a cancer.
The average age at diagnosis was 68 years and 74 years at death. For SA the ASIR increased from 16.8 in 1986 to 30.8 in 2006, while
the ASMR increased from 12.3 in 1997 to 16.7 in 2009. There has been a steady increase of incidence and mortality from prostate
cancer in SA.