Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans can be used to detect signs of prostate cancer, and could potentially form the basis of a prostate cancer screening programme, according to UK researchers.
Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men in the UK, and is also the second most common cause of cancer-related death in UK men, according to figures from Cancer Research UK.
“Our results give an early indication that MRI could offer a more reliable method of detecting potentially serious cancers early”
Caroline Moore
However, there is currently no formal screening programme available in the UK because the standard initial test for prostate cancer – prostate-specific antigen (PSA) measurement – is not accurate enough.
A study, published in the journal BMJ Oncology today, set out to measure the accuracy of MRI scanning as a screening tool for prostate cancer, to see if it could be useful in future cancer screening programmes.
Researchers recruited 303 men aged 50-75 from eight GP practices in London. The men underwent a screening MRI and a blood test to measure PSA.
Of the participants, 64 of the men tested positive according to either the screening MRI or the PSA test and were recommended to have an NHS referral for further assessment for prostate cancer.
Of the 48 men who tested positive according to the MRI screening, two were found to have clinically insignificant cancer while 25 were diagnosed with clinically significant disease.
Of note was the finding that 15 of these 25 men had not been identified as being at risk of prostate cancer by the PSA test and would have remained undiagnosed if they had not undergone MRI screening.
Professor Caroline Moore, lead researcher on the study, said it was a “sobering thought” that these men would have been reassured they did not have cancer if they had only undergone the standard PSA test.
“These results are extremely exciting, and we now want to see much larger, UK-wide studies”
Simon Grieveson
Professor Moore, a consultant surgeon at University College London Hospital, added that it reiterated the need for a new approach to prostate cancer screening.
She 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 one per cent of participants were ‘over-diagnosed’ with low-risk disease.
“More studies in larger groups are needed to assess this further,” added Professor Moore.
Commenting on the study, health information manager at Cancer Research UK Alice Davies said: “This early-stage research shows the potential of using MRI scans alongside PSA as a screening tool for prostate cancer.
“But further research is needed in a larger sample of men to determine how well the test performs and whether it would save lives from prostate cancer.”
Assistant director of research at the charity Prostate Cancer UK, Simon Grieveson, also welcomed the results of the study.
“When a man’s prostate cancer is caught early, it’s very treatable. Sadly, more than 10,000 men each year are diagnosed too late, when their cancer has already spread,” he 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,” he added.
“These results are extremely exciting, and we now want to see much larger, UK-wide studies to understand if using MRI as the first step in getting tested could form the basis of a national screening programme,” he said.