LabMedica

Download Mobile App
Recent News Expo Clinical Chem. Molecular Diagnostics Hematology Immunology Microbiology Pathology Technology Industry Focus

Prostate Cancer Blood Test Found Equally Effective Across Ethnic Groups

By LabMedica International staff writers
Posted on 07 Aug 2024
Print article
Image: The Stockholm3 prostate cancer test produces significantly better results than the current PSA standard (Photo courtesy of 123RF)
Image: The Stockholm3 prostate cancer test produces significantly better results than the current PSA standard (Photo courtesy of 123RF)

Stockholm3, a prostate cancer test that analyzes a combination of protein and genetic markers from a blood sample using an algorithm, has been shown to predict the likelihood of clinically significant cancer with greater accuracy than the conventional prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test. Research involving over 90,000 men indicates that Stockholm3 outperforms PSA, helping to avoid unnecessary MRIs and biopsies, and identifying serious cancers even in men with low or normal PSA levels. Historically, these studies primarily involved a predominantly White Scandinavian population, casting doubt on their applicability globally. Now, a new study has confirmed that Stockholm3 is equally effective across diverse ethnic backgrounds and continues to outperform the PSA standard significantly.

The study, conducted by researchers at Karolinska Institutet (Stockholm, Sweden) where the Stockholm3 blood test was developed, involved more than 2,000 men from 17 clinics, with ethnic backgrounds including 16% Asian, 24% African-American, 14% Latin American, and 46% White American. Each participant was recommended for a prostate biopsy based on elevated PSA scores, abnormal rectal exams, concerning MRI results, or other suspicious clinical signs. Before undergoing a biopsy, each subject had a blood sample taken for the Stockholm3 test, performed without knowledge of the biopsy outcomes.

The findings published in The Journal of Clinical Oncology showed that clinically relevant prostate cancer was detected in 29% of participants, with a slightly higher incidence among African Americans and a lower one among Asians. Importantly, the Stockholm3 test was shown to potentially reduce unnecessary biopsies by 45% (673 compared to 1,226), while maintaining effectiveness in detecting all clinically significant cases across different ethnicities. The researchers assert that these findings address critical concerns and anticipate that this evidence will facilitate broader adoption of the Stockholm3 test globally.

“The study demonstrates that the Stockholm3 test is just as effective on an ethnically mixed group as it is on a White, Swedish population,” said the study’s lead author Hari T. Vigneswaran, doctor and PhD student at Karolinska Institutet.

Related Links:
Karolinska Institutet

Gold Member
Pharmacogenetics Panel
VeriDose Core Panel v2.0
Verification Panels for Assay Development & QC
Seroconversion Panels
New
Myeloperoxidase Assay
IDK MPO ELISA
New
TORCH Infections Test
TORCH Panel

Print article

Channels

Clinical Chemistry

view channel
Image: The tiny clay-based materials can be customized for a range of medical applications (Photo courtesy of Angira Roy and Sam O’Keefe)

‘Brilliantly Luminous’ Nanoscale Chemical Tool to Improve Disease Detection

Thousands of commercially available glowing molecules known as fluorophores are commonly used in medical imaging, disease detection, biomarker tagging, and chemical analysis. They are also integral in... Read more

Immunology

view channel
Image: The cancer stem cell test can accurately choose more effective treatments (Photo courtesy of University of Cincinnati)

Stem Cell Test Predicts Treatment Outcome for Patients with Platinum-Resistant Ovarian Cancer

Epithelial ovarian cancer frequently responds to chemotherapy initially, but eventually, the tumor develops resistance to the therapy, leading to regrowth. This resistance is partially due to the activation... Read more

Microbiology

view channel
Image: The lab-in-tube assay could improve TB diagnoses in rural or resource-limited areas (Photo courtesy of Kenny Lass/Tulane University)

Handheld Device Delivers Low-Cost TB Results in Less Than One Hour

Tuberculosis (TB) remains the deadliest infectious disease globally, affecting an estimated 10 million people annually. In 2021, about 4.2 million TB cases went undiagnosed or unreported, mainly due to... Read more

Pathology

view channel
Image: The UV absorbance spectrometer being used to measure the absorbance spectra of cell culture samples (Photo courtesy of SMART CAMP)

Novel UV and Machine Learning-Aided Method Detects Microbial Contamination in Cell Cultures

Cell therapy holds great potential in treating diseases such as cancers, inflammatory conditions, and chronic degenerative disorders by manipulating or replacing cells to restore function or combat disease.... Read more

Technology

view channel
Image: The HIV-1 self-testing chip will be capable of selectively detecting HIV in whole blood samples (Photo courtesy of Shutterstock)

Disposable Microchip Technology Could Selectively Detect HIV in Whole Blood Samples

As of the end of 2023, approximately 40 million people globally were living with HIV, and around 630,000 individuals died from AIDS-related illnesses that same year. Despite a substantial decline in deaths... Read more

Industry

view channel
Image: The collaboration aims to leverage Oxford Nanopore\'s sequencing platform and Cepheid\'s GeneXpert system to advance the field of sequencing for infectious diseases (Photo courtesy of Cepheid)

Cepheid and Oxford Nanopore Technologies Partner on Advancing Automated Sequencing-Based Solutions

Cepheid (Sunnyvale, CA, USA), a leading molecular diagnostics company, and Oxford Nanopore Technologies (Oxford, UK), the company behind a new generation of sequencing-based molecular analysis technologies,... Read more
Sekisui Diagnostics UK Ltd.