Men considering a hypothetical treatment for prostate cancer: a comparison to patients

BACKGROUND: In facilitating informed decision making about PSA screening, men are often asked to consider the potential consequences of the test, including a diagnosis of prostate cancer and how they would want to be treated. However, there is no empirical evidence thus far demonstrating that men are able to consider this hypothetical situation in a realistic manner. PURPOSE: To compare the features (attributes) of treatments that are important to non-patient men considering a hypothetical diagnosis of prostate cancer with those deemed important to men actually diagnosed with early-stage disease. METHODS: Two groups of men went through a decision aid interview to help them choose between treatment options for early-stage prostate cancer: non-patient men who imagined themselves to be diagnosed with the disease, and newly diagnosed patients. During the interview participants identified features of the treatment and disease that were important to their decisions. RESULTS: The percentage of non-patients and patients that thought particular attributes were important was correlated: r (33) = 0.77, p < 0.01. The effects on bladder and bowel functioning were considered important to >or=50% of each group. In addition to the 22 attributes initially presented, 49% of non-patients and 67% of patients identified additional attributes as being important to their decision. Eight (42%) of the 19 additional attributes were identified by non-patients and patients alike. CONCLUSIONS: The group of non-patient men provided a close approximation to the group of newly diagnosed men with respect to the attributes identified as being important to their treatment decisions for early-stage prostate cancer, suggesting that the consideration of what is important to the decision by non-patient men is realistic.