RESUMO
Background: There is no national screening programme for prostate cancer in Sweden. Instead, population-based organised prostate cancer testing (OPT) projects are introduced to make information and testing more equal and effective. Objective: To evaluate men's perception of being invited to OPT and of the information in the invitation letter, and whether their perception is influenced by educational level. Design setting and participants: A questionnaire was sent out to men invited to OPT in 2020: 600 50-yr-old men in Region Västra Götaland and 1000 50-, 56-, and 62-yr-old men in Region Skåne. Outcome measurements and statistical analysis: Responses were evaluated on a Likert scale. The chi-square test was used to compare proportions. Results and limitations: A total of 534 men (34%) responded. Almost all considered the OPT concept as very good (84%) or good (13%). Among men not previously undergone a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test, a larger proportion with nonacademic (53%) than with academic education (41%) responded that the text about disadvantages was very clear (p = 0.03). A similar difference was observed for the text about advantages (68% vs 58%, p = 0.09). There was no association between education and searching for more information elsewhere. The low response rate is the main limitation. Conclusions: Almost all responding men evaluating the invitation letter for OPT were positive about making a personal decision regarding whether or not to have a PSA test. Most were content with the brief information. Men with academic education were somewhat less likely to find the information very clear. This shows a need for further research about how best to describe the advantages and disadvantages of prostate cancer testing. Patient summary: Almost all men who responded to a questionnaire to evaluate the invitation letter for organised prostate cancer testing were positive about the opportunity to make a personal decision regarding whether or not to have a prostate-specific antigen test.
RESUMO
BACKGROUND: A prerequisite before introducing a screening program is that the screening examinations are acceptable to participants. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the acceptance and bother of prostate cancer screening examinations. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: The randomized population-based GÖTEBORG-2 prostate cancer screening trial invited >37 000 men for prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing followed by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in case of elevated PSA and prostate biopsy (targeted and/or systematic) if indicated. OUTCOME MEASUREMENTS AND STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: Participants were asked to fill out a questionnaire and rate the level of bother associated with each examination (PSA, MRI, and prostate biopsy) on a categorical scale ranging from 1 to 5 (1 = "not at all bothersome" and 5 = "very bothersome"), and to rate their willingness to repeat the examinations, by marking an X on a continuous scale ranging from 0 to 10 (0 = "yes, without any hesitation" and 10 = "no, absolutely not"). Wilcoxon signed rank test was used. RESULTS AND LIMITATIONS: Compliance with MRI was 96% (1790/1872), compliance with biopsy was 89% (810/907), and the response rate to the questionnaire was 75% (608/810). Men who underwent all examinations (n = 577) responded that biopsy was more bothersome than PSA test (p < 0.001) and MRI (p < 0.001). High levels of bother (≥4 out of 5) were reported by 2% (12/577) for PSA test, 8% (46/577) for MRI, and 43% (247/577) for biopsy. Men were more willing to repeat MRI than biopsy (p < 0.001), but the difference was small (median 0.2 [interquartile range 0.1-0.6] vs 0.5 [0.1-2.0]). CONCLUSIONS: Biopsies are more bothersome than MRI, but a large majority of men accept to repeat both examinations if necessary. Omitting biopsy for MRI-negative men and shifting to targeted biopsies only will reduce bother for men participating in prostate cancer screening. PATIENT SUMMARY: We asked men how bothersome they found the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and prostate biopsies. Biopsies were more bothersome than PSA and MRI, but most men were willing to repeat all procedures if necessary.