The Reimagine study found that MRI screening for prostate cancer is significantly more accurate than current tests, which are linked to overdiagnosis and overtreatment.
The Reimagine study invited men aged 50-75 from GP Practices including a number of the practices we work with at Noclor across North Central and East London. Noclor’s Primary Care Team collaborated with the UCL study team in designing the invitation and randomisation pathway for patients and supported delivery in practices.
Prostate cancer is the most common cancer, and the second most common cause of cancer-related death, in men in the UK. The Reimagine study aimed to assess the feasibility of MRI as a screening tool for prostate care and determine the prevalence of MRI defined suspicious lesions in men across a spectrum of PSA results.
From BBC News by Fergus Walsh:
A 10-minute MRI scan could be used to screen men for prostate cancer, according to a new study.
The scans proved far more accurate at diagnosing cancer than blood tests, which look for high levels of a protein called PSA.
MRI picked up some serious cancers that would have been missed by PSA alone.
At present there is no national screening programme because PSA is considered too unreliable, although men over 50 can request a PSA test.
The authors of this new study suggest that prostate MRI could be used for screening, though they say a larger study would be needed to assess this.
For the Reimagine study, which is published in BMJ Oncology, men aged 50 to 75 in London were invited for screening MRI and PSA tests, which were carried out at University College Hospital.
Of the 303 who had both tests, 48 had a positive MRI that indicated cancer and of these 25 were diagnosed with significant cancer after further tests, including biopsies.
More than half the men whose cancer was picked up on MRI had low PSA test scores below 3ng/ml, which is considered normal, and so would have been falsely reassured they were free of disease.
Prof Caroline Moore, consultant urologist UCLH and chief investigator of the study at University College London, said: "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."
Further Reading:
You can read more on the BBC News Website: Hopes that MRI scans can screen men for prostate cancer
An alternative article is available in the Guardian: MRI scanning could lead to major cut in prostate cancer deaths, finds UK study
UCLH Bioresource Article: MRI scans improve prostate cancer diagnosis in screening trial
The findings are published in BMJ Oncology: Prevalence of MRI lesions in men responding to a GP-led invitation for a prostate health check: a prospective cohort study