New Blood Test Outperforms PSA in Detecting Prostate Cancer

Research led by Dr. Thorgerdur Palsdottir from the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden has revealed that the Stockholm3 test can detect 90% of clinically significant prostate cancers, compared to the 74% detection rate of the standard PSA test.

The study, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, suggests that the Stockholm3 test, which combines PSA measurements with genetic markers and clinical information, could serve as a risk-based screening tool to identify men needing treatment earlier and reduce unnecessary biopsies. Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer among men globally.

The study analyzed data from 12,600 men aged 50 to 74 who participated in the STLM3 MRI randomized screening trial. Over a two-year follow-up, the Stockholm3 test identified 400 out of 443 clinically significant prostate cancer diagnoses, while the PSA test detected only 327 cases.

The findings indicate that the PSA test misses 40% of aggressive cancers, highlighting the need for improved screening methods.