The prevalence and patterns of PSA screening suggest that PSA is used like other cancer screening tests among about a third of U.S. men. Because of the lack of scientific consensus on whether prostate cancer screening is beneficial, more information is needed on how knowledgeable both patients and practitioners are about the potential benefits and harms of screening and how prostate cancer screening decisions are made.

BACKGROUND: This paper examines the prevalence of cancer screening use as reported in 2005 among US adults, focusing on differences among historically underserved subgroups. We also examine trends from 1992 through 2005 to determine whether differences in screening use are increasing, staying the same, or decreasing. METHODS: Data from the National Health Interview Surveys between 1992 and 2005 were analyzed to describe patterns and trends in cancer screening practices, including Papanicolaou test, mammography, prostate-specific antigen, and colorectal screening. Logistic regression was used to report 2005 data for population subgroups defined by several demographic and socioeconomic characteristics. RESULTS: Rates of use for cancer tests are rising only for colorectal cancer, due largely to the increase in colorectal endoscopy screening. Use of all the modalities was strongly influenced by contact with a physician and by having health insurance coverage. CONCLUSIONS: There remain large gaps in use for all screening modalities by education, income, usual source of care, health insurance, and recent physician contact. These specific populations would benefit from interventions to overcome these barriers to screening. Cancer 2010;116:4872-81. Published

Objective To examine the extent to which the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program (Program) has helped to meet the mammography screening needs of underserved women. Methods Low-income, uninsured women aged 40-64 are eligible for free mammography screening through the Program. We used data from the U.S. Census Bureau to estimate the number of women eligible for services. We obtained the number of women receiving Program-funded mammograms from the Program. We then calculated the percentage of eligible women who received mammograms through the Program. Conclusions Although the Program provided screening services to over a half-million low-income, uninsured women for mammography, it served a small percentage of those eligible. Given that in 2003 more than 2.3 million uninsured, low-income women aged 40-64 did not receive recommended mammograms from either the Program or other sources, there remains a substantial need for services for this historically underserved population.