For a study, researchers sought to compare the incidence of prostate cancer screening in patients with spinal cord injury at the institution to a matched, unaffected group.
They did a retrospective study of individuals who met the following criteria: male, 50-70 years old, and diagnosed with cerebral palsy, spina bifida, or quadriplegia. Age, race, insurance, and co-morbidities were used to match a control cohort. Investigators compared Prostate specific antigen (PSA) screening, PSA value, prostate MRI, prostate biopsy, and biopsy results. The connection between patient characteristics and PSA screening was determined using multivariate logistic regression analysis.
Each trial and control group contained 2,180 participants. When compared to controls, patients with spinal cord injury had substantially lower rates of PSA screening (15% vs. 24%, P<.00001), MRI (0.1% vs. 0.6%, P=.02), and biopsy (0.6% vs. 1.3%, P=.01). A reduced chance of PSA screening was related with spinal cord damage (OR=0.56, CI=0.48-0.65, P<.00001). There were no significant variations in PSA levels or biopsy results.
When compared to a matched control population, patients with spinal cord injury had a reduced chance of PSA screening. Because PSA screening is a collaborative choice, physicians should consider the growing life expectancy of spinal cord injury patients and the hazards of under-testing for prostate cancer.
Reference: goldjournal.net/article/S0090-4295(22)00141-8/fulltext
