Health economic evaluations of prostate cancer testing in Sweden

We provided important evidence to policy makers on prostate cancer screening and testing. To provide context for the importance of this evidence, Sweden is moving towards organised prostate cancer testing. We provided two evaluations in 2021. First, we evaluated the cost-effectiveness of the Stockholm-3 test assuming a positive test would be followed by systematic biopsies. As a reminder, the Stockholm-3 test was developed in collaboration with SeRC. Moreover, eCPC has developed an individual-based simulation model and calibrated the model to Sweden. From this evaluation, we found evidence that the Stockholm-3 test would be highly cost-effective compared with the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test alone if the Stockholm-3 test is used as a reflex test following a PSA test with a value of 2 ng/mL or higher. Second, we assessed the cost-effectiveness of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and targeted biopsies with the use of systematic biopsies for prostate cancer diagnostics. The diagnostic evidence was based on a recent meta-analysis from the Cochrane Collaboration. We provided a formal health economic evaluation to support the decision by recent guidelines to use MRI for prostate cancer diagnostics. These results can be used for evaluating the pilot studies on organised prostate cancer testing and help for planning of a national program for organised prostate cancer testing.