Toward a Shift in Prostate Cancer Screening and Treatment Practices Among Men Aged 40 and Older in France (2009–2014)?

Objectives: To describe the annual trends, between 2009 and 2014, in the prevalence of men free of prostate cancer (PC) who had at least one prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test, a prostate biopsy, a new diagnosis of PC, or certain PC treatments. Methods: Men aged 40 and older covered by the general health insurance system (representing 73% of the male population in this age group, or 11 million men) were included. Data were obtained from the National Inter-Regime Health Insurance Information System (Sniiram). Results: The proportion of men aged 40 and older who underwent a PSA test was 30% in 2009 and 27% in 2014. Over the same period, a decrease in the number of biopsies (from 0.6% to 0.4%, or from 60,000 to 40,000 men) and a stable incidence of prostate cancer (0.4%) were observed. Among men who underwent a PSA test, the proportion of biopsies decreased (2.2% to 1.9%), as did the proportion of PCa detected following PSA testing (1.0% to 0.9%). In contrast, the proportion of patients with PCa following a biopsy increased (47% vs. 50%). While among men without a PSA test, the frequency of abdominal and pelvic MRI scans remained stable between 2012 and 2014, among those with a PSA test, the frequency of MRI with intravenous contrast injection increased by 45% between 2012 and 2014 and by 153% for MRIs with 6 or more sequences. Among men who underwent a biopsy, these increases were 47% and 46%, respectively. Furthermore, the proportion of men aged 55 and older with incident prostate cancer who did not receive active treatment in the following two years increased, rising from 21% in 2009 to 27% in 2012. Discussion-conclusion: These results suggest a slight trend in prostate cancer screening rates, which remain high despite recommendations from the French National Authority for Health, but a more pronounced decline in various diagnostic and management approaches, further confirmed by the drop in 2012 in the number of prostatectomies and long-term care (ALD) cases for incident prostate cancer. The role of MRI still needs to be better evaluated.

Author(s): Tuppin P, Leboucher C, Samson S, Peyre Lanquar G, Gabach P, Rebillard X

Publishing year: 2016

Pages: 156-63

Weekly Epidemiological Bulletin, 2016, n° 9, p. 156-63

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