Prostate Cancer--testing, Incidence, Surgery and Mortality

Objectives: This article examines recent use of the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test and presents trends in prostate cancer incidence, surgery and mortality.

Data Sources: Data are from the 2000/01 Canadian Community Health Survey, the National Cancer Incidence Reporting System and the Canadian Cancer Registry, the Hospital Morbidity Database, and the Canadian Mortality Database.

Analytical Techniques: Descriptive data on PSA testing among men aged 40 or older were produced. Age-standardized prostate cancer incidence, surgery and mortality rates were calculated. Significant changes in linear trends were detected with joinpoint analysis. Provincial differences in incidence and mortality rates were tested using a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA).

Main Results: In 2000/01, 43% of Canadian men aged 40 or older reported having had a PSA test. Prostate cancer incidence rates rose in the early 1990s, but have since fallen. Prostate cancer mortality rates have decreased among men aged 60 or older, but show little change among younger men. While interprovincial differences in rates of PSA testing were significant, differences in incidence and mortality rates were not pronounced.