UK research collaboration will find if MRI can better diagnose prostate cancer, replace biopsies

Melissa Rohman | | Health Imaging | Diagnostic Imaging

Researchers in the U.K. are preparing to study whether an MRI can be used to diagnosis prostate cancer in men earlier and more accurately than prostate-specific antigen (PSA) tests, which could potentially replace prostate biopsies, according to a release from the Medical Research Council in the U.K.  

The study, called "Reimagine," is funded as part of the Medical Research Council's Stratified Medicine Initiative. It will be a partnership among King's College London, the Imperial College London and a minimum of 12 industry partners led by Mark Emberton, MD, PhD, of University College London. 

“We will be testing if the MRI can be used for screening men and we hope that it will detect serious cancers earlier that are currently missed," Emberton said in the statement. "If we can detect cancers earlier and more reliably with a non-invasive test, this could help to improve the survival rates to prostate cancer, which kills about 11,800 men in the U.K. annually."  

Motivation for the research initiative stems from the unreliability of PSA blood tests for prostate cancer diagnosis used for population screening in the U.K. Additionally, this study will build on previous research, led by Emberton and colleagues, that found that MRI scans for 27 percent of men tested who had a positive PSA could rule out prostate cancer and avoid getting a biopsy. 

According to Emberton, the large research team plans to recruit 1,000 men with medium to high risk cancers to see if MRI's can be combined with other diagnostic tests to predict cancer progression. The ultimate goal is to develop diagnostic tests better than biopsies to target the correct cancer treatment for each individual patient.  

""
Melissa Rohman

A recent graduate from Dominican University (IL) with a bachelor’s in journalism, Melissa joined TriMed’s Chicago team in 2017 covering all aspects of health imaging. She’s a fan of singing and playing guitar, elephants, a good cup of tea, and her golden retriever Cooper.

Related Content

AI rules out abnormal findings on chest X-rays, significantly reducing workloads
Older adults among the walking wounded with incident TBI
Philips moves digital pathology to the cloud with AWS
PHOTO GALLERY: What does fetal medical imaging look like?
Speaker laments radiology’s major contribution to climate change
Radiologist accuracy takes a hit overnight, especially with advanced imaging exams

Around the web

Cardiovascular Business
Positron partners with Upbeat Cardiology Solutions to improve cardiac PET/CT access

Positron, a New York-based nuclear imaging company, will now provide Upbeat Cardiology Solutions with advanced PET/CT systems and services. 

Cardiovascular Business
Global shortage of nuclear imaging isotopes may be over

The nuclear imaging isotope shortage of molybdenum-99 may be over now that the sidelined reactor is restarting. ASNC's president says PET and new SPECT technologies helped cardiac imaging labs better weather the storm.

Cardiovascular Business
‘A huge win’: CMS significantly increases Medicare payments for cardiac CT

CMS has more than doubled the CCTA payment rate from $175 to $357.13. The move, expected to have a significant impact on the utilization of cardiac CT, received immediate praise from imaging specialists.