It is with great pleasure that I present this special edition of Aging Health, dedicated to prostate cancer in the elderly population.

Prostate cancer almost exclusively occurs in men aged 50 years and over. It has a tremendous impact on patients’ quality of life, partially owing to its psychological burden but also, and more importantly, as a consequence of the treatment options currently available for its management. Prostate cancer is unique because of its potential to be ‘outlived’. In other words, the majority of newly diagnosed prostate cancer cases will not be the cause of death, even without treatment. This is especially relevant in the elderly population owing to relatively shorter life expectancy and higher incidences of co-morbidities. Hence, the term ‘clinically insignificant cancer’ is commonly used to highlight this predicament in prostate cancer management. The controversy spans from who should be screened and the value of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screening, prevention strategies and the role of diet and 5α-reductase inhibitors, accurate clinical staging and the efficient utilization of imaging techniques, to the best treatment options, which may include radical prostatectomy with or without lymph node dissection, various radiation therapy modalities and cryotherapy with or without hormonal blockade. Many of these questions remain unanswered, partly owing to lack of strong clinical evidence, yet it is especially relevant to those individuals with advancing age because of the higher potential risk of overtreatment.