Using MRI scans to screen for prostate cancer could “significantly” reduce the number of men dying from the disease, researchers have said.
The “sobering” results reinforce “the need to consider a new approach to prostate cancer screening”, the study’s chief investigator said.
Prostate cancer is the most common cancer found in men. Those over 50 who are experiencing symptoms including needing to use the toilet more frequently and blood in the urine can request a blood test.
The tests, which look for high levels of a protein called PSA, have been linked to over-diagnosis and over-treatment of low-risk cancer.
More than 300 men underwent a PSA test as well as an MRI scan in the study led by University College London, University College London Hospitals NHS (UCLH) Foundation Trust and King’s College London.
Of those who had an average PSA score, 16% had an MRI scan that indicated the presence of prostate cancer. More than 30 of these men would not have been referred for further investigation.
“Our results give an early indication that MRI could offer a more reliable method of detecting potentially serious cancers early, with the added benefit that less than 1% of participants were ‘over-diagnosed’ with low-risk disease,” Professor Caroline Moore, the study’s chief investigator and a consultant surgeon at UCLH, said.
Simon Grieveson, assistant director of research at Prostate Cancer UK, said: “MRI scans have revolutionised the way we diagnose prostate cancer and it’s great to see research into how we might use these scans even more effectively.”
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Professor Mark Emberton, consultant urologist at UCLH, said: “Given how treatable prostate cancer is when caught early, I’m confident that a national screening programme will reduce the UK’s prostate cancer mortality rate significantly.”
The study was published in the medical journal BMJ Oncology.
Another trial, known as Limit, is being conducted with a much larger number of patients, which the research team said is the “next step towards a national prostate screening programme”.
The trial will also attempt to recruit more black men, Mr Grieveson said.
