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

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.

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.

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]).

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.