In February 2022, a proposal for revised Swedish national guidelines for prostate cancer was presented and submitted for consultation. The proposal has now been adopted and the group of experts concluded that there is good evidence that Stockholm3 can select men with PSA above a certain level for further investigation and reduce the proportion of men who need to undergo MRI examination.
With around 10,000 new cases per year, prostate cancer is the most common form of cancer in Sweden and the most common cause of cancer-related death. Early detection is crucial for treatment outcome.
"We are very pleased with the conclusion of the expert panel regarding Stockholm3. The improved precision that Stockholm3 provides could contribute to saving 1000 lives annually, in Sweden alone. At the same time, unnecessary examinations that both cause patient anxiety and consume substantial healthcare resources can be avoided," says David Rosén, CEO of A3P Biomedical.
In 2018, the Ministry of Social Affairs tasked Regional Cancer Centers in Collaboration with standardizing and streamlining prostate cancer testing in the country and identifying complementary diagnostic tests. The overall goal of the guidelines is to provide a common basis for handling patients with suspected or confirmed prostate cancer, so that the variations between different regions and hospitals are minimized. A revised "National Prostate Cancer Care Program", including recommendations from the National Task Force on Organized Prostate Cancer Testing (OPT), went out for consultation in February 2022 and has now been adopted (1).
The revised guidelines state that "there is good evidence that Stockholm3 can select men with PSA above a certain level for further investigation and reduce the proportion of men who need to undergo magnetic resonance imaging" and that "the local OPT projects are well suited for continued clinical evaluation of Stockholm3".
(1) Prostate cancer – National care program 21 June 2022