Open AccessThe Impact of a Suspicious Prostate Biopsy on Patients' Psychological, Socio‐behavioral, and Medical Care Outcomes
Author(s) -
Fowler Floyd J.,
Barry Michael J.,
WalkerCorkery Beth,
Caubet JeanFrancois,
Bates David W.,
Lee Jeong Min,
Hauser Alison,
McNaughtonCollins Mary
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
journal of general internal medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.746
H-Index - 180
eISSN - 1525-1497
pISSN - 0884-8734
DOI - 10.1111/j.1525-1497.2006.00464.x
Subject(s) - medicine , prostate cancer , biopsy , prostate , prostate biopsy , prostate specific antigen , prostate cancer screening , cancer , gynecology , urology
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the psychological, socio‐behavioral, and medical implications of apparently false‐positive prostate cancer screening results. METHODS: One hundred and twenty‐one men with a benign prostate biopsy performed in response to a suspicious screening test (biopsy group) and 164 men with a normal prostate‐specific antigen (PSA) test result (normal PSA group) responded to a questionnaire 6 weeks, 6 and 12 months after their biopsy or PSA test. RESULTS: The mean (±SD) age of respondents was 61±9 years (range, 41 to 88 years). One year later, 26% (32/121) of men in the biopsy group reported having worried “a lot” or “some of the time” that they may develop prostate cancer, compared with 6% (10/164) in the normal PSA group ( P <.001). Forty‐six percent of the biopsy group reported thinking their wife or significant other was concerned about prostate cancer, versus 14% in the normal PSA group ( P <.001). Medical record review showed that biopsied men were more likely than those in the normal PSA group to have had at least 1 follow‐up PSA test over the year (73% vs 42%, P <.001), more likely to have had another biopsy (15% vs 1%, P <.001), and more likely to have visited a urologist (71% vs 13%, P <.001). CONCLUSION: One year later, men who underwent prostate biopsy more often reported worrying about prostate cancer. In addition, there were related psychological, socio‐behavioral, and medical care implications. These hidden tolls associated with screening should be considered in the discussion about the benefits and risks of prostate cancer screening.