Prostate-Specific Antigen Test Utilization in a Major Canadian City

Qunfeng Wang; Fang Chen; Depeng Jiang; Amin Kabani; AbdulRazaq A H Sokoro

doi:10.1093/ajcp/aqaa003

Prostate-Specific Antigen Test Utilization in a Major Canadian City

Am J Clin Pathol. 2020 May 5;153(6):776-780. doi: 10.1093/ajcp/aqaa003.

Authors

Qunfeng Wang¹, Fang Chen², Depeng Jiang³, Amin Kabani^{1

4}, AbdulRazaq A H Sokoro^{1

5

6}

Affiliations

¹ Diagnostic Services, Shared Health Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada.
² Departments of Finance and Accounting, I. H. Asper School of Business, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada.
³ Departments of Community Health Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada.
⁴ Departments of Medical Microbiology, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada.
⁵ Departments of Internal Medicine, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada.
⁶ Departments of Pathology, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada.

PMID: 32003789
DOI: 10.1093/ajcp/aqaa003

Abstract

Objectives: To review the utilization of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing in Winnipeg, a major Canadian city, and to compare PSA testing rates between Winnipeg and Calgary, another major Canadian city of comparable size.

Methods: PSA testing results were reviewed by year and age group. We focused our studies in years 2011 and 2016, for which census demographic data are available.

Results: In Winnipeg, the PSA testing rates (patients with one or two PSA tests divided by the male population) showed a declining trend over years from 2008 to 2017. For almost all age groups, PSA testing rates in 2016 decreased in comparison to those in 2011. For age older than 40 years, the relative percentage decreases were 14% to 20%.In 2011, Winnipeg PSA testing rates were consistently higher than those in Calgary for all age groups. For age older than 40 years, the relative percentage differences were 36% to 50%.In addition, 41% and 40% of patients in Winnipeg who underwent PSA testing were younger than 50 years or older than 69 years in 2011 and 2016, respectively.

Conclusions: PSA testing utilization may be falling short of optimal rates. There is a need to reinforce the optimal use of clinical recommendations.

Keywords: PSA test; Prostate cancer detection; Prostate-specific antigen.

MeSH terms

Adult
Age Factors
Aged
Canada
Early Detection of Cancer*
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Prostate-Specific Antigen / blood*
Prostatic Neoplasms / blood
Prostatic Neoplasms / diagnosis*

Substances

Prostate-Specific Antigen