Michael Aberger, MD, resident physician, University of Kansas Medical Center, discusses a cost analysis of testicular self-examinations.

The United States Preventative Services Task Force (USPSTF) came out with a recommendation against testicular self-examinations in asymptomatic men, and the recommendation has been revisited several times. Aberger and colleagues went back and found that no cost analysis was performed.

In this analysis, it was demonstrated that 322 clinic evaluations could be performed for the same cost as one missed advanced stage cancer. It was then estimated that, based on the SEER database, approximately 300,000 benign office visits could have been performed at the same cost of all metastatic prostate cancer treated in 2013.

The main takeaway of this analysis, Aberger says, is that the fiscal ramifications of the USPSTF recommendation should be considered.

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Michael Aberger, MD

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Dr. Aberger Discusses a Cost Analysis of Testicular Self-Examinations