The Article in Brief

Background Medical professionals disagree about whether the PSA (prostate-specific antigen) test is a helpful tool in screening men for prostate cancer, and whether prostate cancer screening should be recommended for men older than 50 years. It is recommended that doctors inform men about the benefits and risks of prostate cancer screening, so that they can make their own informed decisions. This study looks at whether men who receive a PSA test discuss the test with their doctors in advance, as well as other factors that might be related to such discussions.

What This Study Found About 60% of men who received a PSA test discussed the pros and cons of the test with their doctors in advance. Discussions were more likely to occur with African American men, with men who had an established source of medical care, and when the doctor suggested the test.

Implications

• These findings suggest that doctors are aware that African American men are at greater risk of prostate cancer and are addressing prostate cancer screening in their office visits.
• Topics for future study include the effect of the medical practice setting and the patient-doctor relationship on the discussion of prostate cancer screening, and methods for getting patients actively