Early-Stage Prostate Cancer Incidence Declines Following USPSTF Guidelines Update

Ahmedin Jemal DVM, PhD, and colleagues from the American Cancer Society, Atlanta, examined the trends in stage-specific and prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screenings after the 2008 and 2012 U.S. Preventative Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommendations against the tests. They determined prostate cancer incidence from 2005 through 2012, using data from 18 population-based Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Result registries and data from men without a history of prostate cancer who responded to the 2005 and 2013 National Health Interview Survey.

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“Using the most recent population-based incidence and nationally representative self-reported PSA screening data, we report reductions in early-stage prostate cancer incidence and PSA-based screening rates in men 50 years and older, coinciding with the 2012 USPSTF recommendation against PSA-based screening,” the authors wrote in the November 17 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

Their research found that the rates of prostate cancer incidence per 100,000 men aged ≥ 50 years started to decline in 2008 from 541 to 505 in 2010. Nationwide the diagnosis of men in the same demographic declined by 33,519 in 1 year.

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In a second study, published in the same issue of JAMA, Jesse D. Sammon, DO, of Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, and colleagues examined PSA data from the National Health Surveys in 2000, 2005, 2010, and 2013 to determine prevalence of the 2012 USPSTF screening recommendations.

In their final study population of 20,757 men, the prevalence of PSA screening decreased from 38% to 31% overall between 2010 and 2013. The researcher conducted a pooled study between the 2013 and 2010 surveys, which revealed declines were seen only in men aged < 75 years as opposed to aged ≥ 75 years; the highest rates of a decrease were among men aged 50 to 54 years.

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“The 2008 USPSTF recommendations against PSA screening in men aged 75 years or older have not been associated with changes in screening practices. However, we found a decrease in the prevalence of PSA screening following the 2012 recommendations, particularly in men younger than 75 years,” the authors wrote.

Source:
Studies Find Decline in Rates of PSA Screening, Early-Stage Prostate Cancer [press release]. Chicago, IL:
JAMA; November 17, 2015.