Knowledge and Perception of Nigerian Men 40 Years and above Regarding Prostate Cancer

Abstract

Background: Carcinoma of the prostate is now the most commonly diagnosed male cancer worldwide. However, knowledge and perception of Nigerian men about the disease has not been fully investigated. Aim: To determine the level of awareness about prostate cancer among men 40 years and older in Ibadan, Southwestern Nigeria. Methods: Four focus group discussions were used to obtain information from 29 randomly- selected Nigerian men, aged 40 years and above, about their knowledge of the common causes of morbidity and mortality among men of their age group as well as prostatic diseases and their perceived causes. ln~depth interviews were then conducted among 656 participants using questionnaires. Results: Generally, the respondents and discussants were unaware of the prostate gland and its diseases; whilst relatively few knew about carcinoma of the prostate and most were ignorant of the symptoms of the disease. Among discussants and respondents who knew about the gland, most thought that benign and malignant prostatic diseases were long~term complications of promiscuity and sexually transmitted infections. All the participants were interested in receiving information about all aspects of carcinoma of the prostate, Conclusions: These results indicate that a large proportion of adult Nigerian men are ignorant of the prostate gland and its diseases in general, and carcinoma of the prostate in particular. There is therefore the need for community awareness programs on prostatic diseases in our locality.