Quick 15-minute scan could save thousands of lives – detecting prostate cancer early
BLOKES could be offered a "game-changing" prostate check as part of the national cancer screening programme.
A new trial found a 15-minute MRI scan is safe, realiable and avoids the need for an intimate rectal exam.
Researchers from Imperial College London analysed scan and blood results for 411 volunteers aged 50 to 69.
The scan found twice as many tumours needing treatment than the current PSA blood tests.
And it can tell which tumours are unlikely to cause problems during a man's lifetime - sparing unnecessary ops, that come with side effects.
'Game-changer'
Professor Hashim Ahmed said: "Prostagram has the potential to form the basis of a new screening programme for prostate cancer and could be a game-changer.
"The number of aggressive prostate cancers missed by PSA highlights the importance of ramping up our research efforts into alternative ways to screen for prostate cancer.
"MRI has the advantage of passing over the many cancers which don’t need to be diagnosed and focusing on the types of cancers which are more likely to shorten life.
"By finding these aggressive cancers at the earliest opportunity, men have the opportunity to be offered less invasive treatments with fewer side effects."
Blood tests are known to identify too many slow-growing tumours that are unlikely to cause any harm over a lifetime.
It can lead to over-treatment, which may leave men impotent and incontinent.
In the UK 12,000 men die each year from prostate cancer and the new scan has been hailed a "game changer" that could "unmask the disease earlier".
Prostate cancer affects one in eight men during their lifetime and more than 50,000 UK makes are diagnosed with the disease each year.
It's the most common cancer in British men - including TV star Stephen Fry and ex-BBC host Bill Turnbull - and the third deadliest in the UK.
No side effects
Prostagram is believed to be more efficient than the current tests as it uses magnetic waves that have no radiation risks.
It produces a picture of the prostate and is a non-invasive form of testing.
The new scan is a shorter version of the 40 minute MRI scans that are used for men referred to specialists by their family doctor.
The trial worked with over 400 volunteers aged between 50 and 69 years of age and it could highlight ways that patients could be tested without incurring uncomfortable side effects.
What is prostate cancer?
What is the prostate?
The prostate is a small, walnut-sized gland, that only men have.
It sits around the urethra - the tube a bloke uriates and ejaculates from - between the penis and the bladder.
The main point of the prostate is to produce the fluid which mixes with sperm to create semen - making it vital for reproduction.
But, like all organs in the body, it can be invaded by cancer - when cells in the gland start to grow uncontrollably.
One in eight British men will get prostate cancer in their lifetime.
Many will live long lives and not experience too many nasty symptoms.
But in others, their cancer will spread, which is when the disease can turn deadly.
Prostate cancer currently kills 10,900 men-a-year, but Prostate Cancer UK warn that this number could surge to 15,000-a-year by 2026.
What are the symptoms?
- Needing to urinate more often, especially at night
- Needing to rush to the toilet
- Difficulty in starting to pee
- Weak flow
- Straining and taking a long time while peeing
- Feeling that your bladder hasn't emptied fully
Better test
Dr David Eldred-Evans, who helped develop the new scan said it had been found that treatment was a "more acceptable way to test men for prostate cancer".
"Unfortunately, men can often be put off from seeking medical advice for prostate issues because they are worried about the need for a rectal examination.
"One of the key advantages of Prostagram is that it can avoid the need for rectal examination, and may encourage more men to have a prostate health check.
"Our next step therefore is to scale-up Prostagram and see if the results can be replicated on a larger number of men across the UK.
"This bigger study is 1-2 years away and the final impact on guidelines from this larger study is at least 5-6 years away."
It was found that Prostagram outperformed the current testing and increased the number of aggressive prostate cancers detected.
Four per cent of volunteers had aggressive prostate cancer of which 65 per cent to 82 per cent were identified by Prostagram and just 41 per cent by the current treatment.
The team are currently pursuing funding for a larger trial in the UK.
The associate director of research at Prostate Cancer UK said effective screening is "desperately needed".
Dr Matthew Hobbs said this will help stop so many men dying from this disease.
"This exciting trial shows for the first time that a screening programme which is based on MRI scans rather than blood tests might one day provide the answer we’re looking for.
"It gives us another piece in this complicated but crucial jigsaw, but what we need now is a large trial that extends this approach to more men.
"Ideally, that trial should also compare this to other promising tests to see which would make the most effective screening programme.
"The best test will need to provide early and accurate diagnosis of significant cancers before they spread outside the prostate, without over-diagnosing men with low-risk cancers, who could safely avoid invasive tests and treatments.
"Prostate Cancer UK is committed to finding a suitable screening programme for men.
"We’re already working with the University of Sheffield and the National Screening Committee to work out exactly what research is needed to make that a reality as soon as possible."
The findings will be presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology in Chicago later this month.