Cut the duration of MRI scans for prostate cancer with a third would make them cheaper and more accessible without reducing their accuracy. This is the key result of a UK trial which suggests that lowering costs could ensure more men are offered scans.
According to Cancer Research UK, there are around 52,300 new prostate cancer cases each year in the UK, equivalent to more than 140 a day.
Currently, doctors offer patients with suspected prostate cancer a three-stage MRI scan, with the patient being injected with a contrast dye in the third stage: this helps to enhance the images of the scan.
As part of a trial entitled Prime and involving 555 patients from 22 hospitals in 12 countries, researchers from University College London (UCL) and University College London Hospitals assessed the impact of abandoning the third phase. They found that using the shorter scan enabled specialists to diagnose 29% of prostate cancers – the same ratio as with three-step scans.
Dr Clare Allen, lead radiologist on the trial, said the results, presented at the European Association of Urology conference in Paris last week, showed that significant prostate cancer was unlikely to be missed in the absence of a contrast scan. “The scans will be faster, cheaper and can be offered to more men,” she said, “although it is critical to emphasize that omitting the third part of the MRI scan depends on the first two parts of the scan is of high quality.”
The trial found a two-phase MRI can also be almost 50% cheaper: a three-phase MRI costs £273 on average while a two-phase scan is £145. Matthew Hobbs, director of research at Prostate Cancer UK, which funded the trial with the John Black Charitable Foundation, said the results meant men could now be given faster scans that did not require an injection and were cheaper. “This will enable more men to benefit from a better, more accurate diagnosis at a lower cost to healthcare systems, not just in the UK but worldwide.”
