Region Värmland introduces Stockholm3 in its organized program for prostate cancer screening
June 13, 2022
Region Värmland was the first Swedish region to introduce organized prostate cancer screening in 2015. The program includes men in the age category 50-75 years. The region has now decided to include testing with Stockholm3, a blood test for early detection of aggressive prostate cancer.
"We are very proud and happy to be the first Swedish region to offer an organized screening program to all men at risk, similar to the screening for breast and cervical cancer that we offer women," says Göran Karlström, Chief Physician and Medical Director of Health and Healthcare services in Region Värmland.
“It is very gratifying that Region Värmland introduces Stockholm3 for improved prostate cancer diagnostics, based on scientific studies. It provides great benefits for both men and healthcare in the region and we hope that in the long run, it will lead to general screening throughout the country ", says David Rosén, CEO of A3P Biomedical.
Earlier this year, a clinical study was published which Region Värmland conducted in collaboration with Karolinska Institutet with the support of the Swedish Prostate Cancer Association. The study, which includes 9,000 men, focused on finding men who have agggressive prostate cancer through better diagnostics and improved use of resources.
The results of the study show that the best strategy is to use Stockholm3 as a complement to today's analysis with PSA.
"By using Stockholm3, we can better distinguish those men who need further testing, such as magnetic camera examination or biopsies", says Mauritz Waldén, Med. Dr., Urologist and responsible for the research study.
Region Värmland has about 280,000 inhabitants, of which 50,000 are men in the age category 50-75 years, who have been offered organized PSA testing. The region now aims to reach the next level by using Stockholm3 at elevated PSA values.
About A3P Biomedical
A3P Biomedical is a company that specializes in advanced prostate cancer diagnostics. A3P’s main product, Stockholm3, is a clinically and commercially validated blood test for early detection and risk stratification of aggressive prostate cancer. A3P Biomedical is headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden. For more information, please visit www.a3p.com
About Stockholm3
Stockholm3 is a blood-based test, that runs a combination of protein biomarkers, genetic biomarkers and clinical information through an algorithm to find the probability of clinically significant cancer at biopsy.
Stockholm3 has been evaluated in clinical studies including more than 90,000 men. It is extensively tested in large population-based screening trials, as well as in real world clinical utility studies in primary care, as a reflex test to PSA at values 1.5-20 ng/ml. Benefits include the ability to reduce unnecessary MRIs, benign and Grade Group 1 prostate biopsies for men with elevated PSA, while simultaneously improving detection of clinically significant cancers in men with low or normal PSA values. Using Stockholm3 leads to a more accurate risk assessment than the current PSA standard. Stockholm3 detects 40-90% more men with aggressive prostate cancer and, at the same time, reduces over-detection by 40-50% compared to PSA.
Multiple Stockholm3 studies have been published in high-impact journals such as The Lancet Oncology, Journal of Clinical Oncology, and European Urology. The studies address both the specificity and sensitivity of Stockholm3 in multi-ethnic populations as well as health-economic benefits of implementing it in clinical care. For more information about our clinical studies please visit www.a3p.com.
About prostate cancer
Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men. In 2020, the global incidence of new prostate cancer cases was 1.4 million, and prostate cancer specific mortality 370,000. Global prostate cancer incidence and mortality is expected to rise by 100% and 85% respectively by 2040, driven by an ageing population.
Press contact:
Cecilia Edström
cecilia.edstrom@a3p.com
+46 72 226 2328