Stockholm3 study awarded best abstract in the prostate cancer biopsy indication session at the 2024 European Association of Urology meeting

The annual 2024 European Association of Urology (EAU) meeting was held in Paris from April 5 – 8. More sophisticated risk adapted prostate cancer strategies was a focus area, including six abstracts evaluating Stockholm3 in populations across Europe and North America. An abstract utilizing a baseline Stockholm3 score to predict biochemical recurrence after prostatectomy was awarded best abstract in the prostate cancer biopsy indication session.

The awarded abstract evaluated cancers missed when using PSA cutoffs of 3 ng/ml, compared to Stockholm3 of ≥11 (1). The cohort consisted of men who participated in the original STHLM3 trial and underwent radical prostatectomy with curative intent. The STHLM3 study was a paired design trial, where men with elevated PSA (≥3 ng/ml) and a Stockholm3 ≥11 underwent biopsy.

The follow-up study evaluated the 5-year biochemical recurrence for these men. The results showed that less than 1% (1/115) of the cancers missed by Stockholm3 had biochemical recurrence at a 5-year follow-up, compared to 11% (9/82) of the cancers missed by PSA ≥3. The cancers missed by PSA were identified by Stockholm3, followed by biopsy, and the diagnosed men underwent prostatectomy.

The results of this follow-up study suggest the following:

  • Stockholm3 identifies aggressive cancer that traditional, interval PSA screening misses and thus may better identify men within the window of cure.
  • Stockholm3 can predict men that may develop biochemical recurrence after prostatectomy.
  • Cancers missed by Stockholm3 behave less aggressively than cancers missed by PSA.

These results build off abstract results presented at EAU 2023, Micoli et al. (2), showing a trend toward reduced prostate cancer specific mortality from the same STHLM3 trial.

“Large screening trials have shown that PSA testing reduces prostate cancer specific mortality, but PSA testing alone doesn’t eliminate it. These results suggest that by using an adjunct Stockholm3 test at lower PSA thresholds, clinically relevant and potentially lethal cancers can be detected and cured. This data also suggests there is additional prognostic benefit of baseline Stockholm3 testing” says Dr. Hari Vigneswaran, Karolinska Institutet researcher, urologist and Director of Medical Affairs at A3P Biomedical.

Other Stockholm3 presentations at the EAU covered a wide range of topics, including:
Organized prostate testing and screening, multi-ethnic validation, clinical use in men ≥75 years, compliance of Stockholm3 vs. PSA, and cost-effectiveness in a diagnostic and treatment care pathway.

(1) Vigneswaran HT; Palsdottir T; Grönberg H; Nordström T; Egevad L; Eklund M. “Stockholm3 to predict post-operative risk and biochemical recurrence after radical prostatectomy: Evidence from the STHLM3 trial” EUROPEAN UROLOGY. 2024;85:s1674-s1675

(2) Micoli C; Crippa A; Discacciati A; Vigneswaran H; Palsdottir T; Clements M; Aly M; Adolfsson J; Fredrik W; Wiklund P; James T; Lindberg J; Gronberg H; Egevad L; Nordstrom T; Eklund M. “The Stockholm3 prostate cancer screening trial (STHLM3): An interim analysis of mortality results after 6.5 years of follow-up.” EUROPEAN UROLOGY. 2023;83:s1266-s1267

For additional information, please contact:

David Rosen, CEO
Telephone: +46 10 1823325
Email: david.rosen@a3p.com

About A3P Biomedical

A3P Biomedical’s mission is to improve quality of life of men by radically increasing the precision in prostate cancer diagnostics. The company’s lead product is Stockholm3, a blood test for early detection of aggressive prostate cancer. Stockholm3 has been developed by scientists at Karolinska Institutet and validated in clinical studies including more than 90,000 men. A3P Biomedical is headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden. For more information, please visit www.a3p.com

About Stockholm3

Stockholm3 is a blood test that combines protein biomarkers, genetic biomarkers, clinical data, and a proprietary algorithm, to predict the risk of aggressive prostate cancer at an early stage. In clinical practice, Stockholm3 finds 100 percent more aggressive prostate cancers and reduces unnecessary biopsies by 50 percent compared to current practice with PSA (1).

Stockholm3 has been evaluated in clinical studies with more than 90,000 men. Data from the latest pivotal study, a randomized study including 12,750 men, was published in The Lancet Oncology in 2021. The study was also awarded the European Association of Urology (EAU) “Prostate Cancer Research Award 2022”. Multiple additional studies have been published in high-impact journals, including a previous study with 58,000 men, published in The Lancet Oncology in 2015 (1).

Based on robust peer-reviewed clinical data, leading Nordic healthcare providers have replaced PSA with Stockholm3. Region Värmland in Sweden has introduced general screening for prostate cancer with the help of Stockholm3 for men in the age category 50-75, who benefit from a more precise test with increased sensitivity and specificity. At the same time, healthcare providers can reduce direct costs by 17 to 28 percent (1).

(1) Publications, results and clinical validation.

About prostate cancer

Prostate cancer is the second most common male cancer, and the fifth leading cause of cancer related death in men worldwide. According to WHO, 1.4 million men were diagnosed with prostate cancer and 375,000 deaths were reported in 2020. Incidence of prostate cancer is expected to increase by 70 percent until 2040, driven by an aging population.

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