Men could soon be offered a 10-minute MRI to test for prostate cancer

Men could soon be offered a unique new prostate cancer test that could detect whether they are at risk of developing a dangerous form of the disease, scientists have revealed.

Experts say men could be offered a test between the ages of 55 and 60 and given “peace of mind” for the rest of their lives.

The 10-minute scan, which could potentially be rolled out in supermarkets and shopping malls, detects dangerous cancers years before they cause damage, while ignoring growths that do not pose a threat.

A government-funded trial is expected to begin this summer, but if successful, the new MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) technique would be the first time a national prostate cancer screening program has been proposed under the of the NHS.

It was compared to a mammogram, offered every three years to women aged 50 to 71 to look for signs of breast cancer.

Some 450 men have already undergone potentially life-saving MRI scans as part of a clinical trial, with another 350 expected later this year.

If both trials prove successful, researchers expect checks to be offered from mobile scanners across England.

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Unlike blood tests, MRIs appear to be better at distinguishing cancers that are likely to grow and spread from benign tumors that could potentially go untreated.

Currently, prostate cancer screening is not recommended in the UK because the available tests, which look for markers in the blood, are too unreliable.

The trial of the new test follows a change in guidelines from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) last month, which suggested that MRI should be the first-line test for the diagnosis of the disease.

“I think this could revolutionize the way we diagnose diseases and hopefully identify men who would be better off treated than not treated,” said Professor Mark Emberton, dean of medical sciences at University College London , at the Cheltenham Science Festival.

“We end up with a lot of men who are diagnosed with cancer that is not intended to kill them,” Emberton said. “The beautiful thing about MRI is that it overlooks the many, many cancers that don’t need to be diagnosed.”

Another reason prostate cancer is difficult to detect is that it grows extremely slowly.

Many men will develop it later in life, but will often die of another cause before the cancer becomes relevant.

For this reason, experts say the new test could mean many men will only have to undergo one screening test.

“If your prostate becomes very clean again at 55 or 60 – I don’t know yet what age we will choose – it is probably very unlikely that you will develop prostate cancer,” Professor Emberton explained.

“We think this could revolutionize the way we diagnose diseases and hopefully identify men who would be better off treated than not treated.” »

More than 11,500 men die from prostate cancer in the UK each year, making it a deadlier disease than breast cancer.

Prostate Cancer UK’s new campaign ‘Men, We’re With You’, was recently launched to highlight the charity’s belief that all men deserve to be saved from prostate cancer.

With one man dying from prostate cancer every 45 minutes, the campaign aims to get people thinking about the men in their lives, what they love about them and what they would miss if they lost them to of prostate cancer.

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Commenting on the potential new MRI test, Karen Stalbow, from Prostate Cancer UK, said: “This trial could be an exciting step towards our ambition for a national screening program that allows men to get an early diagnosis of cancer of the prostate which can save more lives.

“If the results are positive, then MRI could offer a non-invasive first step in the diagnosis of prostate cancer in the future.