Prevalence of elevated serum prostate-specific antigen in rural Nigeria

Background: Recent hospital and cancer registry data show increasing prostate cancer incidence in Nigeria, which was previously regarded as a low incidence region. This study investigates the prevalence of prostate cancer risk in a previously unscreened cohort of rural Nigerians. Methods: Rural Nigerian men, 40 years and older, were screened by serum prostate‐specific antigen (PSA) and digital rectal examination (DRE) and those with PSA ≥ 4 ng/mL and/or abnormal DRE were referred for prostate biopsy. Results: Of 200 consecutive men invited, 151 (75.5%) presented for screening, the mean age was 56.45 + 15.1 and 95 (61.6%) were ≥ 50 years of age. Of the 140 who consented to a blood test, PSA correlated with age (r = 0.3, P