Exploring patient perceptions of PSA screening for prostate cancer: risks, effectiveness, and importance.

Objective: To study the beliefs of a group of Canadian men regarding the risks, effectiveness, and importance of routine prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing when used as a screening tool for prostate cancer.

Design: A 1-page questionnaire designed to gauge patient beliefs about PSA screening.

Setting: Two primary care clinics in Kingston, Ont.

Participants: Seventy-two men aged 41 to 80.

Main Outcome Measures: Whether men believed that the PSA blood test was not risky when used as a screening test for prostate cancer, was effective at preventing death from prostate cancer, and was important for their health.

Results: Fifteen men reported having visited their physicians because of difficulty urinating in the past 2 years, or a personal history of prostate cancer, and were excluded; for these men, the use of the PSA blood test would not be for screening. Of the 57 men considered in the study, 54 (95%) believed that using the PSA blood test as a screening tool for prostate cancer was not risky, 39 (68%) believed that the PSA blood test was good or very good at preventing death from prostate cancer, and 45 (79%) believed that the routine use of the PSA blood test was important or very important for their health. Men in the suggested screening age group of 51 to 70 years (n = 32) had an equally positive impression of PSA screening.

Conclusion: Despite a limited body of evidence showing its effectiveness, Canadian men continue to have a favourable impression of PSA screening and remain largely unaware of potential adverse events associated with PSA testing.