Predicting Clinically Significant Prostate Cancer in a Multiethnic Cohort: Novel Blood Assay vs PSA Levels

By: Joshua D. Madera, MD
Posted: Thursday, March 14, 2024

Use of the multiparametric blood test Stockholm3 to detect clinically significant prostate cancer may reduce the rate of prostate biopsies across ethnically diverse populations, according to a presentation given at the 2024 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Genitourinary Cancers Symposium (Abstract 262). Stockholm3 had a sensitivity similar to prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels, further suggesting its efficacy and predictive value, explained Hari Thambiah Vigneswaran, MD, of the Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, and colleagues.

Collectively, these findings suggest that the use of Stockholm3 might reduce the rate of prostate biopsies by 45% in patients with benign pathology or those classified with International Society of Urological Pathology 1 disease, according to the investigators.

From 2019 to 2023, a total of 2,129 men who were referred for a prostate biopsy were recruited for the SEPTA trial. Demographic information was collected from patients and included White/Caucasian (46%), African American/Black (24%), Asian (16%), and Hispanic/Latino (16%). Blood samples were collected from all patients to be analyzed using Stockholm3 and to measure PSA levels. The clinical assays were compared to assess their sensitivity in detecting prostate carcinoma. Additional analyses were performed to compare the sensitivity of each clinical assay across ethnic subgroups.

The study findings revealed that Stockholm3 demonstrated a significantly increased specificity (2.91) in predicting prostate carcinoma compared with PSA levels. However, no significant differences in sensitivity (0.95) for predicting prostate cancer were identified between Stockhold3 and PSA levels. Comparison of these clinical assays across ethnic subgroups revealed a similar trend, such that specificity was increased for Stockholm3 compared with PSA levels, and no differences in sensitivity were identified.

Disclosure: For full disclosures of the study authors, visit coi.asco.org.

2024 ASCO Genitourinary Cancers Symposium