Many men are not aware of the pros and cons of taking a prostate cancer test and do not make informed decisions. Now, new research suggests that health officials can help men choose more wisely by making presentations to them in groups in their communities.

Researchers found that they could boost levels of “informed decision-making” and encourage consultation with doctors by speaking at places like churches, YMCAs and barbershops.

“It allows us to reach residents who wouldn’t normally receive these interventions in clinical settings. They were able to learn about an important decision,” said lead study author David Driscoll, a senior medical anthropologist with the RTI International research firm.

Medical officials often advise men over 50 to think carefully about taking blood tests that detect the presence of prostate tumors. The problem is that the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) tests can’t tell whether the tumors are actually dangerous, Driscoll said.

The jury is still out over whether prostate-cancer screening of men without symptoms will save lives, said Dominick Frosch, an assistant professor of medicine at the University of California at Los Angeles.

“Treatments for prostate cancer often have some forms of side effects and, in many cases they’re permanent, like impotence or incontinence,” said RTI’s Driscoll. “(Men) have to decide whether getting tested is in their best interest, and it’s a decision they have to make for themselves.”

Driscoll and colleagues developed two different educational strategies regarding PSA tests and tried them out in 2004 and 2005 on groups of wealthy and poor men — 361 men altogether — in Greensboro and Wilmington, N.C. Their findings appear in the August issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

One approach included information about PSA tests as part of an overall program looking at a variety of health issues. The other approach emphasized PSA tests specifically.

Both approaches included videos of men — “peer role models” — who spoke about the decisions they made about whether to be tested. A team of health specialists talked about the test to the groups, which ranged in size from 10 to 32.

“There would usually be a wide-ranging discussion, in many cases of people who knew each other for a long period of time,” Driscoll said.

Overall, men who watched presentations of both types became more likely to want to take an active role in decisions about prostate cancer testing, Driscoll said. While the intent of the presentations was not to support or discourage PSA testing, the percentage of men who wanted the tests dropped from 70 percent before the presentations to 56 percent a year later.

The study is “very valuable,” said Frosch, who studies how patients make decisions about prostate-cancer tests. “What they’ve demonstrated is that there are alternative ways to help health care consumers make informed decisions about the kind of care they receive.”. American Journal of Preventive Medicine

About  Prostate Cancer

Prostate cancer is a disease in which cancer develops in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system. It occurs when cells of the prostate mutate and begin to multiply out of control. These cells may spread (metastasize) from the prostate to other parts of the body, especially the bones and lymph nodes. Prostate cancer may cause pain, difficulty in urinating, erectile dysfunction and other symptoms.

Many factors, including genetics and diet, have been implicated in the development of prostate cancer. Prostate cancer develops most frequently in men over fifty. This cancer can occur only in men, as the prostate is exclusively of the male reproductive tract. It is the most common type of cancer in men in the United States, where it is responsible for more male deaths than any other cancer, except lung cancer.

Many men who develop prostate cancer never have symptoms, undergo no therapy, and eventually die of other causes. While early prostate cancer usually causes no symptoms, symptoms may include:

• difficulty starting and maintaining a steady stream of urine,
• frequent urination,
• increased urination at night,
• blood in the urine and
• painful urination.

Advanced prostate cancer can spread to other parts of the body and this may cause additional symptoms.; the most common symptom being bone pain. Bone pain most often occurs in vertebrae (bones of the spine), pelvis or ribs. Prostate cancer in the spine can also compress the spinal cord, causing leg weakness and urinary and fecal incontinence.