Mina P. Ghatasa; Andrew T. Tracey, MDa; Lance L. Goetz, MDa,b; William Cartera; Sarah Kodamaa; Sarah C. Krzasteka,b; Ronald T. Seelb; Baruch M. Grob, MDa,b; Timothy Lavisa,b; Adam P. Klausner, MDa,b
Correspondence: Adam Klausner (adam.klausner @vcuhealth.org)
aVirginia Commonwealth University, Richmond
bCentral Virginia Veterans Affairs Health Care Systems, Richmond
Author disclosures
The authors report no actual or potential conflicts of interest or outside sources of funding with regard to this article.
Disclaimer
The opinions expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of Federal Practitioner, Frontline Medical Communications Inc., the US Government, or any of its agencies.
Ethics and consent
Institutional review board approval was obtained for the study at Central Virginia Veterans Affairs Health Care System and from the VA Informatics and Computing Infrastructure Data Access Request Tracker system for extraction of data from the VA Corporate Data Warehouse.
Background: Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing remains controversial due to the debate about overdetection and overtreatment. Given the lack of published data regarding PSA testing rates in the population with spinal cord injury (SCI) within the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), there is concern for potential disparities and overtesting in this patient population. In this study, we sought to identify and evaluate national PSA testing rates in veterans with SCI.
Methods: Using the VA Informatics and Computing Infrastructure Corporate Data Warehouse, we extracted PSA testing data for all individuals with a diagnosis of SCI. Testing rates were calculated, analyzed by race and age, and stratified according to published American Urological Association guideline groupings for PSA testing.
Results: We identified 45,274 veterans at 129 VA medical centers with a diagnosis of SCI who had records of PSA testing in 2000 through 2017. Veterans who were only tested prior to SCI diagnosis were excluded. Final cohort data analysis included 37,243 veterans who cumulatively underwent 261,125 post-SCI PSA tests during the given time frame. Significant differences were found between African American veterans and other races veterans for all age groups (0.47 vs 0.46 tests per year, respectively, aged ≤ 39 years; 0.83 vs 0.77 tests per year, respectively, aged 40-54 years; 1.04 vs 1.00 tests per year, respectively, aged 55-69 years; and 1.08 vs 0.90 tests per year, respectively, aged ≥ 70 years; P < .001).
Conclusions: Significant differences exist in rates of PSA testing in persons with SCI based on age and race. High rates of testing were found in all age groups, especially for African American veterans aged ≥ 70 years.
Prostate cancer will be diagnosed in 12.5% of men during their lifetime. It is the most commonly diagnosed solid organ cancer in men.1 However, prostate cancer screening for prostate-specific antigen (PSA) remains controversial due to concerns about overdiagnosis, as the overall risk of dying of prostate cancer is only 2.4%.1
To address the risk and benefits of PSA testing, in 2012 the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommended against routine PSA testing.2 Updated 2018 recommendations continued this recommendation in men aged > 70 years but acknowledged a small potential benefit in men aged 55 to 69 years and suggested individualized shared decision making between patient and clinician.3 In addition, American Urological Association (AUA) guidelines for the early detection of prostate cancer recommend against PSA screening in men aged < 40 years or those aged > 70 years, shared decision making for individuals aged 55 to 70 years or in high-risk men aged 40 to 55 years (ie, family history of prostate cancer or African American race).4 PSA screening is not recommended for men with a life expectancy shorter than 10 to 15 years aged > 70 years.4
The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) is the largest integrated health care system in the US.5 In addition, the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Spinal Cord Injury and Disorders System of Care operates 25 centers throughout the US.6 Life expectancy following spinal cord injury (SCI) increased significantly through the 1980s but has since plateaued, with life expectancy being impacted by age at injury, completeness of injury, and neurologic level.7,8 As part of a program of uniform care, all persons with SCI followed at the Spinal Cord Injury and Disorders System of Care centers are offered comprehensive annual evaluations, including screening laboratory tests, such as PSA level.9
Patients with SCI present a unique challenge when interpreting PSA levels, given potentially confounding factors, including neurogenic bladder management, high rates of bacteriuria, urinary tract infections (UTIs), testosterone deficiency, and pelvic innervation that differs from the noninjured population.10,11 Unfortunately, the literature on prostate cancer prevalence and average PSA levels in patients with SCI is limited by the small scope of studies and inconsistent data.10-16 Therefore, the purpose of the current investigation was to quantify and analyze the rates of annual PSA testing for all men with SCI in the VHA.
