In a new study from Imperial College London, researchers found that a new type of ultrasound scan can diagnose most prostate cancer cases.
The ultrasound scan has great accuracy and only missed 4.3 percent more clinically important prostate cancer cases compared to magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans.
The researchers believe that an ultrasound scan should be used as a first test in a community healthcare setting and in low and middle-income countries which do not have easy access to high-quality MRI scans.
It could be used in combination with current MRI scans to maximize cancer detection.
Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men in the UK with around 52,300 new cases diagnosed each year.
It develops when cells in the prostate grow in an uncontrolled way. Prostate cancer develops slowly and symptoms such as the blood in the urine do not appear until the disease has developed.
It usually affects men over 50 and often men with a family history of the disease.
Black men are disproportionately impacted by the disease and deaths from prostate cancer have now overtaken those from breast cancer.
As Professor Hashim Ahmed says, MRI scans are one of the tests we use to diagnose prostate cancer.
Although effective these scans are expensive, take up to 40 minutes to perform, and are not easily available to all.
Also, there are some patients who are unable to have MRI scans such as those with hip replacements or claustrophobia fears.
As cancer waiting lists build as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, there is a real need to find more efficient and cheaper tests to diagnose prostate cancer.
The study shows that a special type of ultrasound scan can be used as a potential test to detect clinically significant cases of prostate cancer.
The scan can detect most cases of prostate cancer with good accuracy, although MRI scans are slightly better.
This test can be used in low and middle-income settings where access to expensive MRI equipment is difficult and cases of prostate cancer are growing.
If you care about prostate cancer, please read studies about daily beverages that may lower prostate cancer risk, and findings of new prostate cancer test that could avoid unnecessary biopsies.
For more information about prostate cancer, please see recent studies about prostate disease drug that may help lower risk of Parkinson’s disease, and results showing this healthy diet may reduce prostate cancer development.
The study was conducted by Hashim Ahmed et al., and published in Lancet Oncology.
