ASCO GU 2024: Stockholm3 Testing Prevents Unnecessary Prostate Biopsies Across Ethnicities
The test demonstrated superior specificity to standing PSA testing
TUESDAY, Jan. 30, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- The Stockholm3 blood test for prostate cancer risk stratification reduces unnecessary prostate biopsies and diagnoses of International Society of Urological Pathology (ISUP) grade 1 prostate cancers in a multiethnic cohort, according to data presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology Genitourinary Cancers Symposium, held from Jan. 25 to 27 in San Francisco.
Hari Thambiah Vigneswaran, M.D., of the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, and colleagues conducted the SEPTA prospective trial, which included 2,129 men who underwent prostate biopsy from 2019 to 2023. The cohort included 24 percent African American/Black, 46 percent White/Caucasian, 14 percent Hispanic/Latino, and 16 percent Asian individuals. The researchers aimed to validate the Stockholm3 in an ethnically diverse cohort by demonstrating the test’s noninferiority in detecting clinically significant prostate cancer compared to prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing. They also set out to prove superior specificity of the test versus PSA testing to reduce the number of biopsies in men with benign or ISUP grade 1 biopsies.
The researchers found that among the participants, the median PSA and Stockholm3 values were 6.1 ng/mL and 17, respectively. A Stockholm3 value of 15 or higher demonstrated noninferiority to a PSA value of 4 ng/mL or higher and nearly three times superior specificity. The results were similar across ethnic groups. The researchers noted that a Stockholm3 value of 15 or greater would reduce benign and ISUP grade 1 biopsies by 45 percent overall and between 42 and 52 percent across ethnic groups.
“Although PSA is considered standard of care, this study confirmed previously shown associated harms of isolated PSA testing, suggesting better risk stratification is still needed in current clinical care,” Vigneswaran told Elsevier’s PracticeUpdate. “Precise risk stratification with a multiplex biomarker like Stockholm3 can have a significant impact and reduce prostate cancer testing harms across a diverse American population in current clinical care.”
Several authors disclosed ties to the pharmaceutical industry, including A3P Biomedical, which helped fund the study.
Click on any of these tags to subscribe to Topic Alerts. Once subscribed, you can get a single, daily email any time PracticeUpdate publishes content on the topics that interest you.
Visit your Preferences and Settings section to Manage All Topic Alerts
Advanced Prostate Cancer Center of Excellence
Visit our Advanced Prostate Cancer Center of Excellence for additional, in-depth coverage.