THE "NEW" PROSTATE CANCER INFOLINK

A new analysis by Scales et al., to be published in Cancer, finds that one in five men aged 40 and above has had a PSA test within the previous year and that young black men are more likely than young white men to have undergone the test.

The authors obtained data from the 2002 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, an annual, population-based survey of civilian, non-institutionalized adults in the United States.

The investigators discovered the following:

• 20 percent of the 58,511 men ages 40 and above included in the study database had undergone screening in the previous year.
• Young, black, non-Hispanic men were more likely than young white, non-Hispanic men to report having a PSA test in the previous year.
• Younger Hispanic men were more likely to undergo PSA testing than younger white, non-Hispanic men.
• The probability of undergoing a PSA test increased with increasing obesity, as well as with higher household income and education level.
• Health insurance coverage and an ongoing relationship with a physician were also strongly associated with having had a recent PSA test.

The finding that young, black, non-Hispanic men were more likely than young white, non-Hispanic men to report having a PSA test in the previous year was independent of income, education, and access to care.

Scales et al. noted in addition that these results suggest physicians are more likely to recommend screening among black men due to this group’s elevated risk for prostate cancer. However, they also observed that PSA screening in this group remains potentially suboptimal; only about one in three African American men reported having a PSA test in the previous year.

Filed under: Diagnosis, Prevention Tagged: | cancer, early detection, prostate, PSA, screening