MRI Screening Will Spare Men with Suspected Prostate Cancer from Unnecessary Biopsy

Researchers concluded that the use of magnetic resonance imaging in the early stages of prostate cancer diagnosis will help reduce the number of invasive biopsy procedures in many cases. The results of their new study were published yesterday in theTheNew England Journal of Medicine.

Researchers from University College London found that MRI screening can reliably detect prostate tumours, and therefore may become an effective alternative to the painful targeted biopsy under the guidance of transrectal ultrasound, which is currently performed on all men with elevated PSA (prostate-specific antigen) levels.

Prostate biopsy is an invasive procedure in which a sample of suspicious tissue is taken using a special needle. Subsequent histological analysis of the biological material allows for the detection of cancer cells. British researchers are convinced that most men at high risk for prostate cancer can avoid this unpleasant procedure if they first undergo an examination using a magnetic resonance imager.

They reached these conclusions based on their own experiment, during which they studied five hundred men with suspected prostate tumours who had not previously undergone targeted biopsy. Participants in the study were randomly assigned to two groups. Members of one group were sent for MRI scanning, while the other group underwent standard biopsy conducted under the guidance of transrectal ultrasound. Subsequently, men in the first group, who had a suspicious formation in the prostate detected by MRI, underwent targeted biopsy of the pathological area.

Clear Advantages of MRI

In 71 out of 252 men who underwent magnetic resonance scanning, oncology was not confirmed, allowing them to avoid the unpleasant procedure of transrectal prostate biopsy. Among those who, based on MRI screening results, still had to undergo targeted biopsy, malignant tumours were found in 38%. Meanwhile, among men with characteristic signs of prostate cancer in the second group, who only underwent transrectal biopsy, this figure was only 26%.

Researchers believe that the use of magnetic resonance imaging will fundamentally change the approach to examination when there is suspicion of prostate cancer, reducing the likelihood of overdiagnosis by half and the number of unnecessary biopsy procedures by more than 35%.