The Movember campaign: Impact on referral patterns and diagnosis of prostate cancer.
OBJECTIVE
The aims of the present study were to investigate referral patterns and the diagnosis of prostate cancer (PCa) before and after the Movember campaign was initiated in Denmark.


METHODS
All men (n=2817) referred to the Department of Urology at Frederiksberg Hospital with suspicion of having PCa in the period 1 January 2007-31 January 2014 were identified. Based on the referral date, patients were categorised as pre-Movember (1 January 2007-31 January 2011) and Movember (1 February 2011-31 January 2014), respectively. Annual referral-rates/100.000 inhabitants were calculated and compared with rate-ratio (RR) tests.


RESULTS
The median prostate-specific antigen (PSA) at referral dropped significantly from 9.8 ng/mL in 2007-2011 to 7.9 ng/mL in 2011-2014,p< 0.001. The incidence rate of men referred with suspicion of PCa increased from 134/100.000 in the pre-Movember period to 168/100.000 in the Movember period (RR 1.25 [95% CI 1.16-1.35]). In contrast to what we anticipated, there was no increase in referral in the months following the campaign. The incidence rates of men diagnosed with PCa and low-risk PCa were similar in the Movember period and the pre-Movember period (PCa: RR 1.08 [0.97-1.21]; low-risk PCa: RR 1.29 [0.98-1.73]).


CONCLUSIONS
After the initiation of the Movember campaign a significant decline in the PSA level at referral and an increase in the number of patients referred under suspicion of PCa was observed; however, only minor differences in referral patterns and PCa diagnosis were detected. The results indicate that the Movember campaign had a limited immediate effect on referral, however, it may have contributed to an increased awareness of PCa.
Department of Urology, Bispebjerg and Frederiksberg Hospital, Denmark thomsen.frederik@gmail.com.
Frederik B
FB
Thomsen
Department of Urology, Bispebjerg and Frederiksberg Hospital, Denmark.
Marta K
MK
Mikkelsen
Department of Urology, Bispebjerg and Frederiksberg Hospital, Denmark.
Rikke B
RB
Hansen
Copenhagen Prostate Cancer Center, Department of Urology, Rigshospitalet, University of Copenhagen, Denmark.
Klaus
K
Brasso
D003718:Denmark; D006293:Health Promotion; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D017430:Prostate-Specific Antigen / Q000032:analysis; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis*; D012017:Referral and Consultation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D018570:Risk Assessment
D017430:Prostate-Specific Antigen
Movember; Prostate cancer; awareness; diagnosis; incidence; referral