IN SWEDISHAn independent and peer reviewed study showes health economic benefits using Stockholm3 versus PSA in a screening by invitation setting for prostate cancer. The results from the study demonstrated that Stockholm3 reduced unnecessary biopsies and was cost-effective compared to screening with the currently used PSA test.
In previous peer-reviewed studies, e.g. the pivotal STHLM3 study on 58,000 men published in Lancet Oncology, the Stockholm3 test demonstrated significant health benefits compared to PSA (current standard of care) including a 50 percent reduction of unnecessary biopsies. Other studies as has shown that Stockholm3 simultaneously leads to improved sensitivity for early detection of aggressive prostate cancer.
A recent independent and peer reviewed study now also concluded that, in addition to reducing unnecessary biopsies, there would be health economic benefits using Stockholm3 versus PSA in a screening by invitation setting for prostate cancer.
The main outcome of the study (The cost effectiveness of prostate cancer screening using the Stockholm3 test; Karlsson et al, Plos One, Feb 2020) is that prostate cancer screening every four years using the Stockholm3 test for men with an initial PSA ≥ 2.0 ng/mL was cost effective and reduced unnecessary biopsies compared with screening using the PSA test alone. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) for Stockholm3 vs PSA was €5,663/QALY, which is considered a low cost to improve Quality-Adjusted Life Years (QALY).
The study used data from the Stockholm PSA and Biopsy Register and the Stockholm3 test characteristics from the STHLM3 study.