PILOT-STUDY OF SCREENING FOR PROSTATE-CAN CER BY PROSTATE-SPECIFIC ANTIGEN DOSAGE ON WORKSITE

The goal of this study was to confirm the capacity of accupational med icine to become involved in cooperative screening programs with a dosa ge of the PSA (Prostate Specific Antigen) determined by immunoradiomet ric assay. Two thousands and five hundred seventy three salaried worke rs in the building sector, between 50 and 65 years old, participated i n this investigation. Thirty seven individual ie 1.4% had a PSA level above or equal to 10 mu g/l. Among them, 35 were checked within three months and 17 were found to have a persistently elevated PSA level. In this subgroup 15 pathologies including two cancers were Sound. We obs erved a great variability in the results of PSA determination in the g roups of individuals whose initial assay level was above or equal to 1 0 mu g/l. The linear correlation coefficient between the two assays (o n the same individual), carried our at a sir week interval on average, was low (r = 0.52 for N = 35). In our series, 3.5% of patients follow ed up had undergone a rectal examination less than a year previously. Occupational medicine seems to be an efficient setting for screening i ntervention. Howewer, the people mainly concerned by our study, (salar ied workers seen through the physicians interviewed) did not seem very aware of this type of action.