The Movember campaign: Impact on referral patterns and diagnosis of prostate cancer

Aims: 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.