The Future of Prostate Cancer Diagnostics
In this Blog, we delve into the complexities of the Stockholm 3 test for prostate cancer and how this innovative test is changing the way we detect and diagnose this common form of cancer, offering a more accurate and reliable alternative to traditional PSA testing.
We explain how the Stockholm 3 test differs from PSA testing and how it contributes to early detection and improved outcomes for prostate cancer patients.
Prostate Cancer
More than 52,000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer every year on average – that’s 143 men every day. Every 45 minutes one man dies from prostate cancer – that’s more than 12,000 men every year. 1 in 8 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime (prostatecanceruk.org).
1 in 41 of these men will die of prostate cancer. However, if an aggressive form of prostate cancer is caught early enough, the survival rate is high.
In the UK, the standard test is currently a prostate blood test. The National Health Service uses guidance that states if your prostate result is below range (based on age), you are deemed at low risk of developing prostate cancer.
The PSA blood test sometimes misses prostate cancer. 1 in 7 men with a normal PSA level may have prostate cancer, and 1 in 50 men with a normal PSA level may have a fast-growing cancer (source: prostatecanceruk.org)
Stockholm 3 screening for prostate cancer
Early detection is key to the successful treatment of prostate cancer.
Stockholm3 (SK3) is a sophisticated, NICE approved blood test* to assess a man’s percentage risk of developing aggressive forms of prostate cancer. This test measures four protein markers, genetic information and medical history (if known) to calculate the risk of developing an aggressive prostate cancer. This test can be performed instead of a prostate blood test or after a prostate blood test which gives a result of 1.5% and above (anything below 1.5% is deemed low risk and the SK3 test does not calculate below this level).
The SK3 test will not say whether you have prostate cancer, only a biopsy can ultimately determine this, it will only provide a risk analysis.
The result from SK3 is a score that indicates the risk of aggressive prostate cancer in the form of a traffic light.
- Green Light indicates a low risk and the recommendation is to be tested again in 6 years
- Yellow Light indicates normal risk and the recommendation is to be tested again in 2 years
- Red Light indicates elevated risk and referral to a Urologist is recommended for MRI/Biopsy
PSA Blood Testing
Unfortunately, the traditional prostate blood test that is currently used in the NHS does not differentiate between lesions and the current prostate cut off level for referral to a urologist is 3% and above.
This means that if you have a level lower than 3% you are advised no further action is needed and may potentially miss a harmful form of prostate cancer as the sensitivity level is set too high.
This also means that a harmful lesion could be missed for anyone with a level between 1.5 and 2.99%.
The third and final reason that a prostate blood test is perhaps a less favourable option alone, is that if you have a prostate level of 3% and above (up to 9.99%), you may be sent for an MRI and still not have an aggressive cancer.
However, if the MRI shows lesions (which is likely after a certain age) you may then be referred for an invasive biopsy, because, as you may remember, prostate blood tests alone cannot determine the type of lesion you have.
Men in middle age are very likely to have lesions that will show on an MRI however not all lesions are equal.
There are four grades of lesion.
The first and least harmful kind of lesion that could be present will give little or no risk and not affect the patient and its presence is generally discovered at autopsy and is a non-contributory factor to cause of death.
The second and third type of lesions if caught early and treated can have a good success rate for cure.
The fourth type of lesion is very difficult to treat once at this stage.
In summary:
- A prostate blood test can be a good indicator of a potential problem however it will not be able to determine if a lesion requires treatment
- A MRI can show if you have a lesion but not what type
- A biopsy is the only sure way to determine if a lesion is cancerous
*NICE, the UK National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, has published a report which highlights that the improved accuracy of Stockholm3 has the potential to reduce unnecessary MRIs and biopsies and that implementation of Stockholm3 could potentially reduce the overall costs of prostate cancer diagnosis in the UK.
Contact the clinic on 01252 915333 for more information or to make a screening appointment.
