Putative Risk Factors of Prostate Cancer in Unscreened Ghanaian Men

Abstract

African countries with weak health systems and infrastructure are at risk of high incidence and mortality of prostate cancer. The absence of specific causative agents for prostate cancer calls for early detection strategies and the identification of susceptible factors. We undertook a community-based prostate-specific antigen screening of Ghanaian men to ascertain the association between putative risk factors and prostate cancer. Using an adjusted PSA cut-off we found a prostate cancer prevalence of 12.5% with most men diagnosed between 62–77 years (Mean; 69.50 ± 8.46). We found no statitsically significant association between putative risk factors such as obesity, hypertension, intake of alcohol, and smoking with prostate cancer. However, we observed a significant association between age and occupation, and prostate cancer. Prostate cancer is a growing challenge in Ghanaian men. Detection with PSA offers diagnostic significance and may help in reducing the burden in men. Differences in genetic and environmental differences between populations call for a population-specific assessment of risk factors.