Rates of Prostate Cancer Screening Vary Across California
Rates of prostate cancer screenings in California and other states vary significantly by region, according to a recent Dartmouth Atlas Project report, Politico's "Politico Pulse" reports.
The report was based on 2010 data on men ages 68 to 74.
Overall, the average rate of prostate cancer screening across the U.S. was about 34.5% (Winfield Cunningham, "Politico Pulse," Politico, 12/4).
Screening Rates in Calif.
In California, rates of prostate cancer screening varied from 9% in Napa to 47.2% in Orange County.
Often, higher rates of screening did not correlate with higher incidence of prostate cancer, according to the report.
For example, in San Francisco -- where the incidence of prostate cancer is 10.5 cases per 1,000 male Medicare beneficiaries -- the screening rate was 17.7%. In comparison, the screening rate was 34.8% in Fresno, where there were 3.3 cases per 1,000 male beneficiaries.
Implications
The report notes that "some progress has been made -- for example, screening practices are becoming more risk-based than population-based."
However, the authors note that "new questions have arisen" related to:
- Best practices for counseling patients on prostate cancer risk and treatment options;
- Determining which patients will benefit most from active surveillance; and
- Optimizing treatment outcomes (Dartmouth report, December 2014).