Improved OutcomesService Delivery ChangesSystems Influence Accessible screening and better diagnosis for prostate cancer

There is currently no national screening programme for prostate cancer, which claims 12,000 lives a year in the UK alone, with black men being at double the risk of prostate cancer than other men.  Research made possible by the NIHR Imperial BRC’s Clinical Imaging Facility and a BRC core costs grant demonstrated in 2020 that a new 15-minute MRI scan was better at detecting aggressive prostate cancer than the standard PSA blood test, which can also result in unnecessary invasive procedures through false positives. Building on these results from the PROSTAGRAM trial and related work, Professor Hashim Ahmed, whose research is supported by NIHR Imperial BRC infrastructure, is now leading the national £42million TRANSFORM trial to evaluate fast MRI, PSA and genetic testing, and find the best way to screen for prostate cancers requiring treatment. TRANSFORM, which aims to provide evidence for a screening programme that could be rolled out nationwide, will be the biggest prostate cancer study in the last two decades, recruiting hundreds of thousands of men and those assigned male at birth, with Black people making up at least 10% of those invited to participate. The study is backed by £23.5m from Prostate Cancer UK and £17.5million from NIHR.

 

New prostate cancer screening trial could minimise the death rate