Assessment of DRE and PSA as Diagnostic and Screening Tools for Carcinoma of the Prostate in Rural Nigeria

Abstract

Background: Carcinoma of the Prostate is a major health burden globally. This study was aimed at assessing the value of digital rectal examination and prostate specific antigen as screening and diagnostic tools for carcinoma of the prostate in rural Nigeria

Methods: Men who had abnormal digital rectal examination (DRE) findings, elevated prostate specific antigen (PSA) and prostatic histology within the period were included in the study. Data related to age, PSA value, DRE findings and histology were analyzed using SPSS and simple statistical methods.

Result: The total number of patients was one hundred and fifty eight. The peak decade of occurrence of prostate cancer was the 61-70 years. When DRE findings was cross tabulated with histology, there was a significant correlation (P=.000). The positive predictive value (PPV) of DRE was 96.15% while the negative predictive value (NPV) was 93.5%. For PSA, there was also a significant correlation (P=.000). The PPV of PSA was 64.9% while the NPV was 96.33%.

Conclusion: The extremely impressive performance of DRE and PSA as diagnostic and screening tools may be due to the limitation of the study to a cohort of patients who already hard lower urinary tract symptoms. There is need for community based studies.

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