[Attitude of primary care physicians to early detection of prostatic cancer through prostate-specific antigen]

[Prostate cancer screening with Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) to men over 70 years old in an urban health zone, 2018-2020: A cross-sectional study]

OBJECTIVES

To describe the epidemiology and estimate the cost of Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) screening tests to men ≥ 70 years old in an urban health zone.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study was performed. We obtained every PSA test made in the health zone from 2018 to 2020, and classified them retrospectively as screening (PSAc) or not according to pre-established criteria, reviewing electronic health records. Testing rates were calculated by centres and clinical specialities. The standard population was provided by the city register of inhabitants (VM70). Cost estimation was made using our health system's price list.

RESULTS

Two thousand and thirty six PSA, of 888 men ≥ 70 years old were obtained, and 350 met screening classification criteria. Six adenocarcinomas were diagnosed from those tests. We estimated 76.07 PSAc/1000 VM70-year from any centre, 1.45 tests for each screened individual, and 15.71% prevalence. The standard population was 1534 men (mean 2018-2020, SD 45.37). Patients who were screened (median age 75, SD 4.04) were younger than those not screened. We estimated a total screening test cost of 9,751 €.

CONCLUSIONS

The epidemiology and cost of PSA screening tests to men ≥ 70 years old are reported, both in primary health care and in the hospital. PSA screening tests are common practice amongst professionals attending elderly men in our health zone, mostly in primary care. The screening testing rate of men without prostate cancer is similar to that reported in the literature.

[Use of prostatic specific antigen in primary care (PSA)]

INTRODUCTION

In the literature it is shown that the use of PSA is occasionally wrong, by requesting this marker in very young or very old men, and repeated measurements in short periods of time. The main objective of this study was to describe the use of PSA in daily practice by primary care physicians in our area, dealing with aspects such as the importance of patient age, the value in the screening for prostate cancer, or the subjective beliefs about its usefulness. A secondary objective was the comparison of use, and beliefs among doctors who claim to know PSA well, and those who do not.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

A descriptive and comparative study was conducted using questionnaires that were handed to primary care doctors in all health centres in our area. A descriptive analysis was performed and response rates among doctors who thought they had enough information about PSA, and those who did not, were compared using the Chi-squared test.

RESULTS

A total of 103 questionnaires were received from the physicians, with 83.5% claiming to have sufficient knowledge about the PSA. The professionals in this latter group request PSA at an earlier age (P=.029), with a higher frequency (P=.011) and have more doubts about its usefulness (P=.009) than those with less knowledge. Almost half (49.5%) said they request less than 50 determinations per year, and 33% between 50 and 100. More than half (53.4%) of doctors would not request the first PSA on a patient until their 50s, and up to 49% request it up to 80 years. The true value of PSA has been established many times by 64.1% of requesters, and 29.1% believe it is unhelpful in the diagnosis of cancer.

CONCLUSIONS

In our study, 64% of primary care physicians have considered the true value of the PSA several times, and 29% believe it to be of little use in the diagnosis of prostate cancer. In addition, some data suggest it has limited use due to the fact that 50% made less than 50 PSA requests per years, and 28% of the professionals would never request it on a male without urinary symptoms. In this study, it has been observed that those professionals who claim not to have enough information about the PSA make more requests in patients of an older age, and consider that it is of limited use as a marker.

Prostate specific antigen testing policy worldwide varies greatly and seems not to be in accordance with guidelines: a systematic review

BACKGROUND

Prostate specific antigen (PSA) testing is widely used, but guidelines on follow-up are unclear.

METHODS

We performed a systematic review of the literature to determine follow-up policy after PSA testing by general practitioners (GPs) and non-urologic hospitalists, the use of a cut-off value for this policy, the reasons for repeating a PSA test after an initial normal result, the existence of a general cut-off value below which a PSA result is considered normal, and the time frame for repeating a test. Data sources. MEDLINE, Embase, PsychInfo and the Cochrane library from January 1950 until May 2011. Study eligibility criteria. Studies describing follow-up policy by GPs or non-urologic hospitalists after a primary PSA test, excluding urologists and patients with prostate cancer. Studies written in Dutch, English, French, German, Italian or Spanish were included. Excluded were studies describing follow-up policy by urologists and follow-up of patients with prostate cancer. The quality of each study was structurally assessed.

RESULTS

Fifteen articles met the inclusion criteria. Three studies were of high quality. Follow-up differed greatly both after a normal and an abnormal PSA test result. Only one study described the reasons for not performing follow-up after an abnormal PSA result.

CONCLUSIONS

Based on the available literature, we cannot adequately assess physicians' follow-up policy after a primary PSA test. Follow-up after a normal or raised PSA test by GPs and non-urologic hospitalists seems to a large extent not in accordance with the guidelines.