FRIDAY, June 26, 2026 (HealthDay News) — A next-generation blood test could improve early detection of the most dangerous forms of prostate cancer.

"The major challenge in prostate cancer screening is not just to find more cancer cases, but to identify the cancers that are truly dangerous," said first author Thorgerdur Palsdottir, a researcher at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm. 

"Our results show that Stockholm3 identifies significantly more aggressive cancer cases than PSA [prostate-specific antigen], without increasing the number of unnecessary follow-ups," she added in a news release.

Researchers in Sweden tested more than 12,600 men between the ages of 50 and 74 using both the new Stockholm3 blood test and standard PSA test, and then followed them for two years through national cancer registries.

Unlike the standard PSA test, which measures a single blood protein, the Stockholm3 test combines multiple protein and genetic markers with factors like age and family history to better assess the risk of aggressive prostate cancer.

The study — published June 23 in the Annals of Internal Medicine — showed that Stockholm3 detected 90% of prostate cancers, compared with 74% for PSA, without subjecting more men to unnecessary testing.

Researchers said the newer test also missed significantly fewer serious cancers while identifying a similar number of men as high risk who did not have aggressive disease.

"These results point toward a potential change in how prostate cancer screening can be conducted," Palsdottir said. "A more precise blood test could enable earlier detection of aggressive disease while reducing the number of unnecessary follow-up examinations and procedures."

Longer-term follow-up is still needed to determine whether the test improves survival and other patient outcomes, researchers said.

More information

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more on screening for prostate cancer.

SOURCE: HealthDay TV, June 26, 2026