A CHANGE IN PRACTICE - CURRENT UROLOGIC PRACTICE IN RESPONSE TO REPORTS CONCERNING VASECTOMY AND PROSTATE-CANCER

Objective: To examine the practice patterns of urologists performing v asectomy in response to studies reporting an increased risk of prostat e cancer in vasectomized men. Design: A mailed survey. Setting: A univ ersity medical institution. Participants: One thousand five hundred ra ndomly selected United States urologists under the age of 65 years. Ma in Outcome Measure: Urologists reported practice patterns of vasectomy in response to studies showing possible link between vasectomy and pr ostate cancer.Results: A response rate of 51% (759/1,500) was obtained . Although > 90% state that these studies have had little or no effect upon their practice of vasectomy, 27% screen vasectomized men earlier for prostate cancer, and 20% would be reluctant to recommend a vasect omy to a man with a strong family history of prostate cancer. Conclusi ons: Over one fourth of urologists who screen for prostate cancer have altered their screening patterns even though they responded that the studies have not affected their practice patterns.