USPSTF Recommendations Linked With Decrease in Prostate Cancer Incidence Rates

Incidence rates for localized/regional-stage prostate cancer have significantly decreased 2 years after the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommendations against screening, while distant-stage disease remained unchanged, according to a study published in JAMA Oncology.1

Researchers led by Ahmedin Jemal, DVM, PhD, of the American Cancer Society in Atlanta, Georgia, looked at incidence data for invasive prostate cancer diagnosed from 2005 to 2013 in men 50 years or older through 18 SEER registries. They wanted to establish any pattern in early-stage prostate cancer incidence rates that may have coincided with the decline in prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing after the USPSTF recommendation.

Upon categorizing as local/regional or distant stage, they calculated delay-adjusted incidence rates by age, stage, and race/ethnicity with SEER software.

The study found that, from 2012 to 2013, localized/regional-stage prostate cancer incidence rates decreased from 356.5 to 335.4 per 100,000 men in those patients who were 50 to 74 years old and 379.2 to 353.6 per 100,000 men in those 75 and older.

However, incidence rates for distant-stage disease in the same time period was found to have slightly increased in both age groups, from 15.7 to 16.5 per 100,000 in men 50 to 74 years old and 65.8 to 66.4 per 100,000 in men 75 years or older.

They found similar results in non-Hispanic whites and non-Hispanic blacks. However, the decrease for early-stage disease in blacks was found to not be statistically significant.

Reference

1. Jemal A, Ma J, Siegel R, et al. Prostate cancer incidence rates 2 years after the US Preventive Services Task Force recommendations against screening. JAMA Oncol. 2016 Aug 18. doi:10.1001/jamaoncol.2016.2667. [Epub ahead of print]