Sterke stijging van de detectiefrequentie van prostaatkanker in Nederland gedurende de periode 1990-1996

To study the variation of the number of histologically detected adenocarcinomas of the prostate in the Netherlands during the period 1990-1996.

Design

Retrospective.

Setting

National study.

Method

Use was made of data from the National Automated Morbid-Anatomical Record Department (PALGA), Utrecht. The following data were established for each year of the study period: the total number of histological examinations of the prostate, the number of men involved (often several histological examinations of the prostate of the same man in the same year), how often adenocarcinoma was diagnosed by these examinations and how many men were involved, as well as the age of all carcinoma patients. These data were compared with those concerning variation and incidence of cancer of the prostate obtained from the Netherlands Cancer Registration and the Central Statistics Office.

Results

In 7 years a total of 205,525 histological examinations of the prostate were performed in 179,298 men; the diagnosis ‘adenocarcinoma of the prostate’ was made 52,964 times in 44,182 men. The number of tissue examinations with the diagnosis ‘carcinoma of the prostate’ increased by 63 (from 5,596 to 9,146), the number of men in whom this diagnosis was made increased by 62 (from 4,710 to 7,614). The relative frequency of prostate carcinoma in relation to all examinations of the prostate increased in 6 years (1991-1996) from 22 to 28. In that period, the (uncorrected) incidence increased by 50, while mortality corrected for age remained the same.

Conclusion

Of the marked increase of the number of detected cases of carcinoma of the prostate in the study period, only a small part could be attributed to demographic changes. Since autopsies have shown that there exists a large ‘stock’ of subclinical carcinomas, most of the growth can probably be explained by the more intensive diagnostics with prostate-specific antigen and transrectal ultrasonography.