Prostate Cancer Screening by General Practitioners in Lomé, Togo

Background: Prostate cancer is a common disease in men over 50 years.Only early detection by screening can guarantee a favourable outcome.Objective: The objective of the study is to report on the practice of prostate cancer screening by general practitioners in Lomé.Material and Method: This was a practice survey.A questionnaire administered to general practitioners allowed to examine the following parameters: the practitioner's years of practice, the screening criteria, the screening tools and the factors motivating the request for urological advice.The data were analysed using the software Epi info 7.1.5.The P value was considered significant below 0.05.Results: One hundred and eighty (180) physicians average-aged 29 were administered among whom one hundred and fifty-seven (157) males and twenty-three (23) females.The average duration of the medical practice was 35.2 months (6 months -204 months).The screening criteria were age (47.2%), family history of cancer (17.8%), and age over 50 years associated with symptoms of the low urinary tract (35%).The practitioner's experience did not affect these criteria (p = 0.12).The screening tools were the digital rectal examination (DRE) associated with prostate specific antigen (PSA) assay (20.5%),PSA alone (29.5%), DRE alone (6.6%), suprapubic ultrasound (32.3%) and endorectal ultrasound (11.1%).The choice of the screening tool was related to the practitioner's experience (p = 0.03).The determining factor for a urological consultation was a high PSA (>4 ng/ml) independent of the DRE.Conclusion: Prostate cancer screening is largely done by general practitioners in Lomé.However, the use of some criteria and tools for the screening is not optimal.