The assessment of knowledge and attitudes of men in Serbia about prostate cancer and possibilities for its early detection and treatment in 2011: a cross-sectional study.

PURPOSE: To assess the knowledge and attitudes of men in Serbia about prostate cancer (PCa) and possibilities for its early detection and treatment in 2011. METHODS: This cross-sectional study included 407 men of various ages and education levels selected randomly and divided in 2 groups according to age (up to 40 and over 40 years). The assessment of knowledge and attitudes was based on a survey made up of 12 multiple choice questions conducted with direct contact with respondents from October 15th to December 15th 2011 with their voluntary consent. The results were evaluated in the total sample and between the groups. RESULTS: Patient groups significantly differed according to knowledge about PCa treatment success (p<0.001) and stage in which PCa is most frequently detected (p<0.001) as well as according to attitudes about community-based interventions for increasing the awareness of PCa (p<0.001). Sixty-one percent of respondents over 50 years hadn't done preventive prostate examination despite recommendations. Ninety percent of all respondents believed the community-based intervention should have been implemented in Serbia to increase the men's awareness of PCa. CONCLUSION: The study reported lack of men's knowledge about PCa in Serbia in 2011, while there was a common agreement among men on the necessity of spreading more information about this disease.