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. 2014 May;113(5b):E106-11.
doi: 10.1111/bju.12422. Epub 2014 Jan 17.

A national survey of radiation oncologists and urologists on recommendations of prostate-specific antigen screening for prostate cancer

Simon P Kim  1 , R Jeffrey Karnes, Paul L Nguyen, Jeanette Y Ziegenfuss, R Houston Thompson, Leona C Han, Nilay D Shah, Marc C Smaldone, Cary P Gross, Igor Frank, Christopher J Weight, Timothy J Beebe, Jon C Tilburt
Affiliations

A national survey of radiation oncologists and urologists on recommendations of prostate-specific antigen screening for prostate cancer

Simon P Kim et al. BJU Int. 2014 May.

Abstract

Objective: To assess recommendations for prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screening in a national survey of radiation oncologists and urologists following the recent USA Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) grade D recommendation.

Methods: A random sample of 1366 radiation oncologists and urologists were identified from the American Medical Association Physician Masterfile. From November 2011 to April 2012, a mail survey was sent to query PSA screening recommendations for men at average risk of prostate cancer for the following age groups: 40-49, 50-59, 60-69, 70-74, 75-79 and ≥80 years. Multivariable logistic regression was used to test for differences in PSA-based screening recommendations by physician characteristics.

Results: Response rates were similar at 52% for radiation oncologists and urologists (P = 0.92). Overall, 51.5% of respondents recommended PSA-based screening for men aged 40-49 years, while nearly all endorsed it for those aged 50-74 years (96.1% for 50-59, 97.3% for 60-69, and 87.7% for 70-74 years). However, screening recommendations decreased to 43.9% and 12.8% for men aged 75-79 and ≥80 years, respectively. On multivariable analysis, urologists were more likely to recommend screening for men aged 40-49 (odds ratio [OR] 3.09; P < 0.001) and 50-59 years (OR 3.81; P = 0.01), but less likely for men aged 75-79 (OR 0.66; P = 0.01) and ≥80 years (OR 0.45; P = 0.002) compared with radiation oncologists.

Conclusion: While radiation oncologists and urologists recommended PSA screening for men aged 50-69 years, there was less agreement about screening for younger (40-49 years old) and older (≥70 years) men at average risk for prostate cancer.

Keywords: outcomes; prostate cancer; prostate-specific antigen; screening; survey.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of Interest: All other authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Proportion of respondents recommending PSA testing as part of the routine physical exam for men who are of average risk in developing prostate cancer across age groups by specialty
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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