A simple 10-minute scan picks up twice as many cases of serious prostate cancer as the existing test, research published today suggests.
Using a rapid MRI scan yields much better results in identifying cases than the prostate-specific antigen or PSA blood test, according to the study.
Under current guidelines, men with a PSA level of less than 3 nanograms per milliliter would be considered to be at low risk for prostate cancer and should not be referred for further testing.
But more than half of the men in the study whose MRI scan identified an abnormality and were subsequently diagnosed with prostate cancer serious enough to require treatment had a PSA of less than 3.
The study was also the first to measure the ‘density’ of PSA – a figure based on the PSA level of a blood test compared to the volume of the prostate gland.
(Stock Photo) Using a rapid MRI scan yields much better results in identifying cases than the prostate-specific antigen or PSA blood test, according to the study
Terry Noonan, 64, took part in the trial and discovered he had an aggressive cancer. His prostate was removed within weeks and he is now cancer free
Experts think this is more accurate because PSA levels and prostate size increase with age.
The standard PSA test can lead to older men being falsely told they are at risk because their PSA is elevated.
Scientists involved in the study, called REIMAGINE, believe the ten-minute MRI, combined with PSA density, could revolutionize prostate cancer diagnosis and potentially lead to a national screening program for the disease.
Caroline Moore, a professor of urology at University College London and a consultant at University College London Hospital who led the study, said: ‘The idea that more than half of men with clinically significant cancer would have a PSA of less than 3 ng/ml reassured that they did not have cancer – is a sobering one and reiterates the need to consider a new approach to screening.
‘Our results provide an early indication that MRI could provide a more reliable method for early detection of potentially serious cancers.’
Each year, 52,000 men in the UK are diagnosed with cancer and more than 12,000 die from it.
The standard PSA test remains the most common way to see who needs further testing, despite being unreliable.
This leads to some having unnecessary tests and people with cancer being diagnosed late.
In the new study, 303 men ages 50 to 75 underwent a ten-minute MRI scan of the prostate and a PSA density test.
The MRI suggested that 16 percent — 48 men — were at risk for cancer, but two-thirds of these men had a PSA below 3.
More detailed scans showed that 25 of these men had cancer serious enough to require treatment, 15 of whom would not have been picked up by a standard PSA test.
Separately, the PSA density test identified an additional 16 men at risk for prostate cancer, four of whom were found to have a disease in need of treatment.