Stockholm3 Test May Aid Risk Prediction in Prostate Cancer Screening

TUESDAY, Aug. 31, 2021 (HealthDay News) — The Stockholm3 test combined with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-targeted biopsy could detect clinically significant prostate cancer while decreasing overdetection, according to a study published online Aug. 12 in The Lancet Oncology.

Tobias Nordström, M.D., from Danderyd Hospital at the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, and colleagues randomly assigned men aged 50 to 74 years from Sweden with an elevated risk for prostate cancer (prostate-specific antigen [PSA] of 3 ng/mL or higher or Stockholm3 score of 0.11 or higher) to biparametric MRI followed by MRI-targeted and systematic biopsy in MRI-positive participants (experimental group; 1,372 participants) or systematic prostate biopsies (standard group; 921 participants).

The researchers found that for detection of clinically significant prostate cancer, in the experimental group, a Stockholm3 score of 0.11 or higher was noninferior to a PSA of 3 ng/mL or higher (227 versus 192; relative proportion [RP], 1.18; P < 0.0001 for noninferiority). A Stockholm3 of 0.15 or higher compared with a PSA of 3 ng/mL or higher provided identical sensitivity for detecting clinically significant cancer and yielded fewer MRI and biopsy procedures. A Stockholm3 of 0.11 or higher combined with MRI-targeted and systematic biopsies was associated with higher detection of clinically significant cancers (3.0 versus 2.1 percent; RP, 1.44), lower detection of low-grade cancers (0.7 versus 1.4 percent; RP, 0.46), and fewer biopsy procedures compared with screening using PSA and systematic biopsies.

“After many years of debate and research, it feels fantastic to be able to present knowledge that can improve health care for men,” Nordström said in a statement.

The Karolinska Institutet collaborates with A3P Biomedical in developing the technology for the Stockholm3 test; several of the authors own shares in A3P Biomedical.

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