PSA Testing in Men Receiving Testosterone Therapy With History of Prostate Cancer: A Matched Analysis of a Large Multi-Institutional Research Network

Abstract

Objective: To investigate the frequency of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing in men receiving testosterone replacement therapy (TT) and with a history of prostate cancer (PCa). Methods: We queried the TriNetX network database, a global health research network consisting of 65 million men in 44 large healthcare organizations, to investigate rates of PSA testing in 4 cohorts of men aged 55-69 with a history of PCa diagnosis and/or a prescription for any route or formulation of testosterone. We further stratified each cohort to evaluate PSA testing in men with previously treated (CPT 55,840, 55,866, 77,778, 77,385) or untreated PCa. All cohorts’ PSA testing rates were compared against the “no PCa or TT” cohort by Chi-square test. Results: A total of 4,525,259 men, aged 55-69, were included in our study. Following stratification into cohorts based on PCa or TT history, we found that 14.2% (P < .0001) of men without PCa or TT underwent PSA testing following an initial ambulatory visit. Among men without PCa who received TT, 33.6% (P < .0001) underwent testing. Unfortunately, only 53.2% (P < .0001) and 61.0% (P < .0001) of men receiving TT with previously untreated and treated PCa, respectively, had PSA testing. Conclusion: In contrast to current guidelines, a large proportion of men receiving TT and with a history of PCa did not undergo PSA testing. Further studies are necessary to better characterize reasons why PSA testing rates are low even in this high-risk cohort.