Knowledge, attitudes and behaviors of young adult men about testicular cancer and testicular self-examination

Testicular cancer is the most common neoplasm in men aged 15-35 years. Testicular tumors are usually detected during an examination of the testicles. Doctors especially recommend testicular self-examination (TSE) for individuals at risk for testicular cancer. This study aimed to determine the level of knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors of young adult men about testicular cancer and TSE. The study is descriptive in design and was completed between 13 December 2022 and 29 April 2024 with male participants aged 18-35 years who applied to the outpatient clinics of Hacettepe University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Family Medicine. The questionnaire form consisted of questions to assess sociodemographic data (6), health-related data (5), data on testicular cancer (7 information; 12 TSE), and the Health Beliefs Scale about Testicular Cancer and Testicular Self-Examination (37 questions). A total of 320 young male individuals participated in the study. The mean age of the participants was 26,44,8 years (min=18; max=35), 72,2% had university or higher education level and 35,3% were students. While 65,6% of the participants stated that they had heard of testicular cancer, 39,1% stated that they had no knowledge about testicular cancer. Of the participants, 35,3% had low, 34,4% had medium and 30,3% had high levels of knowledge about testicular cancer. 32,8% of the participants stated that they had heard of TSE and 60,3% stated that they had no knowledge about TSE. The knowledge score levels of those who were younger, single, had university or higher education, health care workers, had cancer in their family and had heard of testicular cancer before were found to be significantly higher. Those who had heard of testicular cancer before had significantly lower perception scores for "susceptibility", "seriousness" and "barriers" and significantly higher perception scores for "benefit and health motivation" and "self-efficacy". Those who had heard of TSE had significantly lower perception scores for "sensitivity", "barriers" and "health motivation" and significantly higher perception scores for "benefit and health motivation" and "self-efficacy". Those who knew how to do TSE had significantly lower perception scores for "sensitivity" and "barriers" and significantly higher perception scores for "benefit and health motivation" and "self-efficacy". In conclusion, it is observed that young adult men have low levels of knowledge and awareness about testicular cancer and rarely perform regular TSE. As family physicians, it is very important to inform individuals about testicular cancer and TSE, and to encourage regular TSE. Keywords: Testicular cancer, testicular self-examination, knowledge, attitude, beliefs