Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) Screening among Apparently Healthy Men of African Descent in Sokoto, North Western, Nigeria

Background: Globally prostate cancer is the sixth leading cause of cancer-related death
in men. Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) is present in small amount in the serum of men
with healthy prostates, but is often elevated in the presence of prostate cancer and other
prostate-related disorders. The aim of this present study was to determine the PSA levels
among healthy men of African descent resident in Sokoto, North Western Nigeria.
Methods: Testing was carried out using the CTK Biotech PSA kit (CTK Biotech Inc, San
Diego, USA). The Onsite PSA Rapid Test is a lateral flow chromatographic immunoassay
for the qualitative detection of prostate specific antigen (PSA) in human serum or plasma
at a cut-off level of 4.0 ng/mL.

Result: We investigated the PSA levels in 106 consecutively recruited men of African
descent with age range and mean age of 40-70 years and 44.75 ± 7.91 years
respectively. We observed a PSA of > 4ng/mL among 7 (6.6%) of subjects studied. Men >
60 had the highest prevalence of raised PSA level (33.3%) compared to those younger
men (p= 0.001). We observed a higher prevalence among farmers (11.1%) compared to
business men, civil servants and students.
Conclusion: In this present study we observed a high prevalence of PSA >4ng/mL and a
positive and significant correlation between age and raised PSA levels among men in
Sokoto, North Western Nigeria. We recommend an annual PSA blood test for men ≥ 40
years of age and that those with a PSA value > 4.0 ng/mL should be considered for
further evaluation. There is also the need to build capacity among biomedical and medical
staff in Nigeria to facilitate effective diagnosis of prostate cancer. There is also the need
for increased prostate cancer awareness in the area to facilitate voluntary testing.