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Knowledge, attitudes, and practices towards prostate cancer screening amongst men living in the southern Italian peninsula: the Prevention and Research in Oncology (PRO) non-profit Foundation experience

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Abstract

Purpose

We aimed to explore the knowledge, attitudes, and practices towards prostate cancer (PCa) risk factors and prevention amongst men living in the southern Italian peninsula.

Methods

We retrospectively reviewed data collected during free preventive visits carried out by the Prevention and Research in Oncology (PRO) non-profit Foundation between July 2013 and July 2016. The following data were collected: demographic and clinical features, knowledge about PCa prevention and sources of knowledge, knowledge about PCa risk factors, previous prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test, previous digital rectal examination (DRE), previous prostate ultrasound, and general attitudes towards DRE.

Results

The study population consisted of 2144 Caucasian men living in four regions in the south of Italy (Campania, Calabria, Molise, Puglia). Median age was 59 years. One thousand six hundred and ninety-nine (79.2%) subjects reported knowing the existence of PCa prevention programs. Most of them received information from the media while only 17.1% declared that the information on PCa prevention that they received was from their family physicians. One thousand two hundred seventy-five (59.5%) subjects declared knowing of the existence of PCa risk factors and 41.3% was aware of the existence of both genetic and exogenous factors. The percentage of subjects who reported having had at least one PSA test in their life was 77.8 and 55.4% reported having had a DRE.

Conclusions

Knowledge about PCa screening amongst male subjects living in southern peninsular Italy is quite high. Knowledge of PCa risk factors is suboptimal and the practice of DRE is underutilized.

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Acknowledgements

Alessia Acquaviva, Pharm.D., University of Naples Federico II for data collection and cataloging. Juliet Ippolito, B.A. Vassar College, M.Phil. University of Dundee, for English language editing.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Urology Unit, Department of Neurosciences, Sciences of Reproduction and Odontostomatology, Università degli studi di Napoli “Federico II”, Via Sergio Pansini, 5, 80131, Naples, Italy

    Vincenzo Mirone, Ciro Imbimbo, Marco Franco, Roberto La Rocca, Luca Venturino, Lorenzo Spirito & Paolo Verze

  2. Urology Unit, Department of Woman, Child and General and Specialized Surgery, Università degli studi della Campania “L. Vanvitelli”, Naples, Italy

    Davide Arcaniolo

  3. Urology Unit, Buon Consiglio Fatebenefratelli Hospital, Naples, Italy

    Massimiliano Creta

Authors
  1. Vincenzo Mirone
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  2. Ciro Imbimbo
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  3. Davide Arcaniolo
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  4. Marco Franco
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  5. Roberto La Rocca
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  6. Luca Venturino
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  7. Lorenzo Spirito
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  8. Massimiliano Creta
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  9. Paolo Verze
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Contributions

VM, CI: project development. DA, MF, RR: data collection. LV: data analysis. LS, MC, PV: manuscript writing

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Paolo Verze.

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Conflict of interest

The mobile walk-in cancer-screening clinic is funded and supported by the PRO non-profit Foundation. Vincenzo Mirone is the President of the PRO non-profit Foundation; Ciro Imbimbo is a Member of the Executive Committee of the PRO non-profit Foundation; Paolo Verze is a Member of the Scientific Committee of the PRO non-profit Foundation.

Ethical approval

 All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. For this type of study, formal consent is not required.

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Mirone, V., Imbimbo, C., Arcaniolo, D. et al. Knowledge, attitudes, and practices towards prostate cancer screening amongst men living in the southern Italian peninsula: the Prevention and Research in Oncology (PRO) non-profit Foundation experience. World J Urol 35, 1857–1862 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00345-017-2074-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00345-017-2074-9

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