Risk Profiles and Treatment Patterns Among Men Diagnosed as Having Prostate Cancer and a Prostate-Specific Antigen Level Below 4.0 ng/mL

Abstract

Background Despite controversy over the benefit of prostate specific antigen (PSA) screening, little is known about risk profiles and treatment patterns in men diagnosed with prostate cancer who have a PSA value less than or equal to 4 ng/mL. Methods We utilized data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, End Results system to describe patient characteristics and treatment patterns of 123,934 men with newly diagnosed prostate cancer in 2004–2006. Age-standardized treatment rates were calculated in five-year age strata. Logistic regression was used to quantify the odds ratios (OR) of men with low– and high–risk disease and the use of radical prostatectomy (RP) or radiation therapy (RT). Results Men with a PSA of 4.0 ng/ml or less represent 14% of incident prostate cancer cases. Fifty-four percent of men diagnosed with prostate cancer and PSA ≤ 4.0 ng/mL harbor low-risk disease (stage ≤ T2a, PSA level ≤ 10 ng/mL, and Gleason score ≤ 6), but over 75% of them received RP or RT. Men with screen-detected prostate cancer and PSA values ≤ 4 ng/mL were 1.49 (CI 1.38–1.62) and 1.39 (CI 1.30–1.49) times more likely to receive RP and RT, respectively, and were less likely to have high-grade disease than men who had non-screen detected prostate cancer (OR=0.67; 95% CI:0.60–0.76). Conclusions Most men diagnosed with prostate cancer with a PSA threshold ≤ 4.0 ng/mL had low-risk disease but underwent aggressive local therapy. Lowering biopsy threshold, while lacking the ability to distinguish indolent cancers from aggressive cancers, may increase overdiagnosis and overtreatment.

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