Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Stockholm 3 (S3) diagnostic test for prostate cancer; and whether he will consider its inclusion within the routine NHS diagnostic pathway for prostate cancer.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is the independent body responsible for developing evidence-based guidance for the health and care system on best practice. NICE’s HealthTech programme provides the route for providing independent, evidence-based guidance on whether new technologies should be adopted in the National Health Service. Decisions on routine use in the NHS is therefore guided by NICE’s established processes and the available evidence.

In August 2022, NICE published a medtech innovation briefing on Stockholm3, which noted that the test may improve risk prediction compared with prostate-specific antigen testing alone, but also highlighted important uncertainties, including limited evidence on its effect on clinical decision-making and long-term outcomes in the National Health Service.