Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2015 Jul-Aug;28(4):491-3.
doi: 10.3122/jabfm.2015.04.150062.

Decrease in Prostate Cancer Testing Following the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) Recommendations

Jun Li  1 , Zahava Berkowitz  2 , Ingrid J Hall  2
Affiliations

Decrease in Prostate Cancer Testing Following the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) Recommendations

Jun Li et al. J Am Board Fam Med. 2015 Jul-Aug.

Abstract

Purpose: To assess changes of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing following recent US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) prostate cancer screening recommendations using 2005 to 2013 National Health Interview Survey data.

Methods: We calculated the percentage of PSA testing among men ≥40 years by age group and age-adjusted race for each survey year. Differences between years were assessed with linear contrasts after combining all years' data.

Results: The overall percentage of PSA testing was highest in 2008 and decreased significantly in 2013. Compared with 2008, each age group had significantly lower screening percentages in 2013, especially men ≥75 years old (-14.0% points; P < .001). Both men aged 50 to 74 and men aged ≥75 had significantly lower percentages in 2013 than in 2010. For white and black men, the PSA testing percentages were highest in 2008 and decreased significantly in 2013. Only white men had a significantly lower percentage in 2013 than in 2010.

Conclusions: Significant declines in PSA testing from 2008 to 2013 in men ≥75 years old may reflect the impact of the 2008 USPSTF recommendations. While the cause of the decreases in PSA testing between 2010 and 2013 among men aged 50 to 74 years old and white men is unknown, the decreases may suggest the early effects of the 2012 recommendations.

Keywords: Cancer Screening; Prostate Cancer; Prostate-Specific Antigen.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest: none declared.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Percentage of prostate-specific antigen testing within the past year, by age and year, among men aged ≥40 years, based on National Health Interview Survey 2005 to 2013 data. Percentages are weighted to the noninstitutionalized male population.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Percentage of prostate-specific antigen testing within the past year, by race and year, among men aged ≥40 years and older, based on National Health Interview Survey 2005 to 2013 data. Percentages of race are age-adjusted to the 2010 US standard population and are weighted to the noninstitutionalized male population. American Indians and Alaska Natives are not presented because of the small sample sizes. API, Asian/Pacific Islander.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Moyer VA; US Preventive Services Task Force. Screening for prostate cancer: U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommendation statement. Ann Intern Med 2012;157:120–34. - PubMed
    1. Drazer MW, Prasad SM, Huo D, et al. National trends in prostate cancer screening among older American men with limited 9-year life expectancies: evidence of an increased need for shared decision making. Cancer 2014;120:1491–8. - PubMed
    1. Howard DH, Tangka FK, Guy GP, et al. Prostate cancer screening in men ages 75 and older fell by 8 percentage points after Task Force recommendation. Health Aff (Millwood) 2013;32:596–602. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Li J, Berkowitz Z, Richards TB, et al. Shared decision making in prostate-specific antigen testing with men older than 70 years. J Am Board Fam Med 2013;26:401–8. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Cohn JA, Wang CE, Lakeman JC, et al. Primary care physician PSA screening practices before and after the final U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommendation. Urol Oncol 2014;32:41.e23–30. - PubMed

MeSH terms

Substances