A hospital-based case-control study of the association between tobacco smoking, alcohol drinking and several relevant dietary items and prostate cancer was carried out in the National Cancer Institute of Uruguay between January 1988 and December 1994. The sample included 156 patients with histologically proven prostatic cancer and 302 controls with a variety of neoplastic and non-neoplastic diseases. The results showed increased risks of prostate cancer associated with beer drinking, meat, milk and fruit consumption, after adjusting for major confounders. The possible role of N-nitroso compounds from beer in prostatic carcinogenesis is discussed.