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= Paid-up subscribersPSA testing rates still low in primary care
22 Jun 2011
PSA testing has not increased in general practice in the UK despite raised public awareness and highly publicised research findings. Older men and men living in more affluent areas were most likely to be tested, a practice-based study has found. Retrospective data were analysed for the year 2007, for all men aged 45-89 years in 87 GP surgeries taking part in a larger prostate cancer study. These practices were distributed across the country in Bristol, Cambridge, Leicester, Sheffield, Leeds and Newcastle. Information was obtained on 126,716 men with no previous diagnosis of prostate cancer. 'The study concludes, that the UK has not seen a continued increase in rates of PSA testing, as previously seen in the late 1990s, and that testing rates are significantly lower than those in many other European countries and the US. Uptake of testing remains low in the UK with significant skew towards older, more affluent men. Clearly, current national policy of an informed choice for all men is not working and this study reinforces the need for more robust guidance.'
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