Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42065662›Full record

ArticleInvestigative and clinical urology2026

Impact of repeated prostate-specific antigen testing on management patterns and personal healthcare spending for prostate cancer: A population-based study National Health Insurance data for 166,848 patients in South Korea from 2010 to 2020.

Young Hwii Ko, Sang Won Kim, Nak-Hoon Son

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Investigative and clinical urology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

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3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Young Hwii KoDepartment of Urology, Ewha Womans University Mokdong Hospital, Ewha Womans University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.ORCID 0000-0002-9150-4292
Sang Won KimMedical Research Center, Yeungnam University College of Medicine, Daegu, Korea.ORCID 0000-0003-2648-0340
Nak-Hoon SonDepartment of Statistics, Keimyung University, Daegu, Korea. nhson@kmu.ac.kr.ORCID 0000-0002-6192-8852

Funding

Korea Health Industry Development Institute RS-2023-00262969Korean Urological Association 2022-KUA-004NRF 2022R1A2C1009074NRF RS-2025-00558517
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeTo evaluate whether repeated prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing influences treatment patterns and healthcare costs for prostate cancer (PCa). MATERIALS AND

methodsWe analyzed a nationwide insurance cohort of men newly registered with PCa from 2010 to 2020. Patients were classified as PSA-tested (≥3 tests across ≥2 years before registration) or PSA non-tested (first PSA test within 3 months before registration). We compared the initial and subsequent treatment patterns between localized and systemic therapies, and per-patient medical expenditures by treatment modality. The analyses focused on 2016 to 2020, when government-set prices stabilized. Primary endpoints were cumulative medical costs and downstream medical utilization patterns.

resultsOf the 166,848 men, 26.7% were PSA-tested, 42.2% were non-tested, and 31.1% were undetermined. Localized therapy was more frequent after repeated testing: surgery, 45.6% versus 33.8% (p<0.001); radiotherapy, 17.0% versus 14.9% (p<0.001); and focal therapy, 0.8% versus 0.3% (p<0.001). Systemic therapy predominated without prior testing: hormone therapy, 59.7% versus 42.3% (p<0.001), chemotherapy, 2.7% versus 1.0% (p<0.001), and androgen receptor-targeted agents, 1.4% versus 0.5% (p<0.001). For localized modalities delivered during 2016 to 2020, the per-patient costs of non-robotic surgery and radiation therapy were comparable between the groups. In contrast, expenditures for hormone therapy and androgen receptor-targeted agents were significantly higher in the PSA non-tested group, primarily reflecting a longer treatment duration rather than higher monthly spending.

conclusionsOnce national prices stabilized, repeated PSA testing was associated with greater use of localized therapy and lower cumulative spending on prolonged systemic treatment without increasing the costs for localized modalities.

Indexed as

Health Care CostsHealth ExpendituresProstate-Specific AntigenProstatic NeoplasmsAgedHumansMaleMiddle AgedNational Health ProgramsRepublic of KoreaProstate-Specific AntigenCosts and cost analysisProstate cancerProstate-specific antigenScreening

Identifiers

PMID42065662
PMCPMC13145764

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.