Nuffield Health has partnered with Prostate Cancer Research to launch Beyond-PSA, the UK's first real-world clinical study assessing whether the Stockholm3 blood test can improve early detection of prostate cancer. Up to 10,000 men are expected to contribute data to the study, which will run within a live UK clinical pathway rather than a controlled trial setting.

The study will initially run alongside a clinical service at Nuffield Health Barbican Medical Centre, open to men aged 45 to 74 who have not previously been diagnosed with prostate cancer, are registered with an NHS GP and can attend the London sites. Where an MRI is clinically indicated, participants will be referred through the NHS or their private medical insurance, with a funded MRI at Nuffield Health Highgate Hospital offered where neither route is available.

Stockholm3 combines protein biomarkers, genetic markers and clinical data to assess prostate cancer risk, and has been prospectively validated in more than 90,000 men, according to The Doctors Laboratory. A separate Karolinska Institutet study involving more than 12,000 men aged 50 to 74 found the test detected 90 percent of clinically significant cancers, compared with 74 percent for standard PSA testing.

Prostate cancer remains the second most common cause of cancer death among UK men, accounting for approximately 12,200 deaths a year. One-year survival rates are around 100 percent when the disease is caught early, falling to 87.6 percent at stage 4 diagnosis and to around 50 percent at five years for stage 4 metastatic disease.

"Men cannot benefit from an innovation that sits on a shelf," said Dr Jayne Spink, chief scientific officer at Prostate Cancer Research. "If we want to know whether Stockholm3 can help detect more cancers earlier in the UK, we must put it to work within real clinical pathways and measure the impact. Beyond-PSA will provide the scale of evidence needed to understand what this approach could mean for patients, clinicians and the health system."

The Stockholm3 test will be available through Nuffield Health's enhanced screening programme at a subsidised cost of £99, with Prostate Cancer Research also establishing a philanthropic fund to reduce access barriers for underserved communities.

For the sector, the partnership confirms that health and fitness operators with clinical capabilities are extending further into screening and early diagnosis rather than remaining confined to wellness services.

Source: healthclubmanagement.co.uk / tdlpathology.com