Stockholm3 test

Prostate cancer is the most common type of cancer in men in Europe. It is a tumor disease of the prostate that mainly affects men over the age of 50.

In Switzerland, 6366 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer every year, making it the third most common cause of death from cancer in Switzerland.

If prostate cancer is detected at an early stage, it can be cured in the vast majority of cases by surgery or radiotherapy. Similar to bowel cancer (colonoscopy) and breast cancer in women (mammography), early detection with the help of a blood test is used to prevent the disease from progressing to a dangerous stage.

In the early stages, prostate cancer does not cause any symptoms. Until recently, it could only be detected by determining the PSA (prostate-specific antigen) in the blood or occasionally by feeling the prostate.

In such a situation, further investigations using MRI and biopsies are necessary. Over the last two decades, PSA testing has enabled major progress to be made in the early detection of prostate cancer. At the same time, the test is repeatedly criticized because it is often too inaccurate in differentiating between benign enlargement, harmless and aggressive tumours.

The consequences are missed dangerous diseases or unnecessary prostate biopsies.

Many efforts have been made to improve the detection of prostate cancer via the blood. One of the best-studied tests is called "Stockholm 3"; this is based on scientific studies with more than 70,000 male participants from Scandinavia and has been in clinical use in Sweden and Norway since 2017. The results of the studies have been published in scientific journals (PMID: 34391509 and PMID: 26563502).

In addition to the PSA value, the Stockholm3 test records other proteins in the blood as well as genetic markers and combines these with clinical data. Based on these parameters, the Stockholm3 test calculates the probability of aggressive prostate cancer in a risk score and provides a treatment recommendation.

In scientific studies, the Stockholm3 test has shown advantages over the PSA value in the early detection of prostate cancer.

The Stockholm3 test

• detects aggressive cancer even in men with a low PSA value. This means that fewer men with relevant prostate cancer are missed by the test than by a PSA determination.
• provides clear treatment recommendations without performing invasive examinations such as rectal examination and ultrasound of the prostate, and with better accuracy than previous screening algorithms.

Stockholm3 has been used successfully in Sweden, Norway and Finland since 2017. In order to ensure that the test is also valid for men outside the Scandinavian region, we have conducted a clinical study over the past three years under the leadership of the University Hospital Basel in which more than 350 men from eastern Switzerland, north-western Switzerland and southern Germany underwent a prostate biopsy. It was shown that the Stockholm3 test can also reliably predict relevant prostate cancer in Swiss men, and better than the PSA test that is usually performed.

You can discuss whether prostate cancer screening is indicated for you with your family doctor, urologist or with us. As a rule, health insurance companies cover the costs of the test.

You are welcome to make an appointment for further discussion.

Urology registration office
Availability: Mon-Fri, 8.00-16.00 hrs
Phone +41 61 265 72 80
anmeldung.urologie@usb.ch