Epidemiologic Characteristics of Prostate Cancer Detection

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: The prevalence of prostate cancer is increasing in the general population. This study aimed to evaluate the epidemiologic characteristics of the prostate cancer detection rate. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We analyzed data from patients who underwent transrectal ultrasound-guided prostate biopsy and who were newly diagnosed with prostate cancer from 2005 to 2006 in Korea. These data were based on National Health Insurance statistics. We also analyzed the data of patients who underwent transrectal ultrasound-guided prostate biopsy and were newly diagnosed with prostate cancer in our institution from 2005 to 2007. RESULTS: According to the data of the National Health Insurance, the detection rates of prostate cancer were 45.8% in 2005 and 43.1% in 2006. These results were not actual cancer detection rates. According to the data from our institution, the cancer detection rate ranged from 24.8% to 25.9% compared with the 15.5% to 23% cancer detection rate reported by other Korean studies. We analyzed the reasons for this difference in detection rates and suggest that the difference is because a suggestive diagnosis is useful and is unchanged until the diagnosis is confirmed. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of prostate cancer is increasing more rapidly than that of other major cancers. The detection rate of prostate cancer in Korean patients who underwent transrectal ultrasound-guided prostate biopsy was inferior to that in Caucasians. Also, some patients were detected without proper screening or biopsy and were thus diagnosed as having advanced or metastatic prostatic cancer. We need a good corelationship between National Health Insurance and the cancer registration project for real detection of prostate cancer.