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Hundreds of men will receive MRI scans as part of a groundbreaking clinical trial that, according to scientists, could transform prostate cancer screening.
The £ 5 million trial, which begins in August, offers a simple, 10-minute badysis, which, scientists hope, could be the first reliable method for identifying tumors. dangerous in the general population.
It follows a modification of the guidelines of the National Institute of Health and Care of Excellence (Nice) last month, which made MRI the first-line test for diagnosis of the disease. Unlike blood tests, the latest generation of badyzes appears to be effective in distinguishing cancers that may develop and spread benign tumors that it is prudent not to treat.
"I think this could revolutionize the way we diagnose the disease and hope we identify men who would be better treated than untreated," said Professor Mark Emberton, dean of medical science at University College London, at the Cheltenham Science Festival.
Since prostate cancer is slowly evolving, it is possible that men with a negative scan at age 55 or 60 will get the green light for many years to come – or even for life. "If your prostate returns very clean … it's probably very unlikely that you will develop prostate cancer," said Emberton. "Maybe once we know a little more about it, you'll have to refresh it every 10 years or something."
Currently, prostate cancer screening is not recommended in the UK because available tests are unreliable. For example, high levels of PSA in the blood are related to prostate cancer, but about 75% of men with high levels do not have aggressive cancer requiring treatment and about 15% of men with normal PSA levels . .
"We end up with a lot of men diagnosed with cancer that is not meant to kill them," Emberton said. "What's beautiful about MRI is that it overlooks the many cancers that do not need to be diagnosed."
The failure of early detection of prostate cancer makes treatment difficult and 11,000 men die each year in the UK.
The latest trial, funded by the Medical Research Council and Cancer Research UK, will invite 1,000 men aged 55 to 75 to scan through two London doctor's offices.
The goal is to badyze 450, but the willingness of men to accept this offer remains an open question. "We think they will," said Emberton. "One of the reasons people did not have it before was because they were worried about the exam. You know, finger down. They worried about the biopsy needle in the prostate. It does not concern either one or the other.
The 10-minute scan, which costs approximately £ 150, is a simplified version of the 30-minute scan used to diagnose cancer in men at risk.
Scientists are evaluating the prevalence of prostate tumors in the population. It is expected that more than 90% of men should have an irreproachable state of health, the others being referred for treatment or monitored over time.
Karen Stalbow, Head of Policy, Knowledge and Impact at Prostate Cancer UK, said the trial could be an interesting step towards setting up a national screening program. "If the results are positive, then MRI could offer a first non-invasive stage of the diagnosis of prostate cancer in the future," she said.
However, others have warned that the reliability of MRI has not yet been established in the general population.
Prof. Ros Eeles, Professor of Prostate Cancer Genetics at the London Cancer Institute, said, "The use of prostate MRI will be important in the overall management of the prostate. 39, evaluation of prostate cancer. However, it is currently not at all clear that MRI will be reliable for detecting all cancers.
"In men at high genetic risk, the Cancer Institute is undertaking studies to determine if men who have a genetic predisposition to aggressive prostate cancer have changes in their MRI when they contract cancer." of the prostate. At the present time, it is not at all certain that it will be reliable to rely solely on the MRI for this evaluation. "
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