Table 1. Characteristics of users and non-users of finasteride and alpha-blockers in the Finnish Prostate Cancer Screening Trial.
| Finasteride usage | Alpha-blocker usagea | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yes | No | Yes | No | |
| Characteristics: | ||||
| Participants (n) | 1754 | 21 566 | 3848 | 19 472 |
| Age at randomisation (years) | No. of men (% of total) | No. of men (% of total) | ||
| 55 | 261 (3.5) | 7295 (96.5) | 790 (10.5) | 6766 (89.5) |
| 59 | 427 (6.9) | 5804 (93.1) | 998 (16.0) | 5233 (84.0) |
| 63 | 476 (9.2) | 4674 (90.8) | 1025 (19.9) | 4125 (80.1) |
| 67 | 590 (13.5) | 3793 (86.5) | 1035 (23.6) | 3348 (76.4) |
| Prevalence of family history of prostate cancer (%)b | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 0.3 |
| Mean no. of screening rounds attended | 2.0 | 1.9 | 2.0 | 1.9 |
| Geometric mean of PSA (95% CI)c | 1.58 (0.24–11.05) | 1.22 (0.27–7.72) | 1.60 (0.28–9.46) | 1.22 (0.26–7.67) |
| P<0.001d | P<0.001 | |||
| Cumulative amount of medication use e | Non-users | 1.22 (0.27–7.72) | Non-users | 1.22 (0.26–7.67) |
| 1st quartile | 1.95 (0.31–12.94) | — | 1.54 (0.26–8.64) | — |
| 2nd quartile | 1.72 (0.19–9.56) | — | 1.66 (0.19–9.07) | — |
| 3rd quartile | 1.49 (0.23–8.94) | — | 1.58 (0.29–9.58) | — |
| 4th quartile | 1.31 (0.17–1.25) | — | 1.80 (0.36–11.66) | — |
| Geometric mean of % free PSA (95% CI)c | 22.37 (9.49–48.36) | 26.48 (10.40–52.80) | 25.26 (10.56–50.96) | 26.43 (10.30–52.80) |
| P<0.001 | P<0.001 | |||
| Cumulative amount of medication use e | Non-users | 1.22 (0.27–7.72) | Non-users | 1.22 (0.26–7.67) |
| 1st quartile | 22.87 (10.96–45.40) | — | 25.26 (10.50–50.99) | — |
| 2nd quartile | 22.67 (9.13–47.26) | — | 24.66 (9.90–47.47) | — |
| 3rd quartile | 21.22 (9.35–48.59) | — | 25.36 (10.85–54.85) | — |
| 4th quartile | 21.12 (7.75–43.57) | — | 25.76 (10.76–52.53) | — |
| Men attending the third screening round (N=3130) | ||||
| Median body mass index | 26.7 | 26.2 | 26.6 | 26.2 |
| P=0.032 | P=0.035 | |||
| Median prostate volume (ml)f | 49 | 36 | 42 | 36 |
| P<0.001 | P<0.001 | |||
a
Includes users of tamsulosin and alfuzosin.
b
Father, brother or son diagnosed with prostate cancer prior to initiation of the Finnish Prostate Cancer Screening Trial.
c
Age-standardised values.
d
P estimated using Man–Whitney U-test.
e
Quartiles for finasteride users : 28–180 doses (1st quartile), 181–398 doses (2nd quartile), 399–1086 doses (3rd quartile), 1087 doses or more (4th quartile); for alpha-blockers: 10–60 doses (1st quartile), 61–180 doses (2nd quartile), 181–629 doses (3rd quartile) and 630 doses or more (4th quartile).
f
As measured by a urologist on a transrectal ultrasound examination.