MRI scans are more effective than biopsies for invasive cancer

Advanced MRI scans can correctly diagnose up to 93% of aggressive prostate cancer cases, compared with only 48% of biopsies, according to a new British scientific study.

The comparative study was described as the biggest breakthrough in decades in the diagnosis of this cancer, as it opens the prospect that one in four men will now avoid the invasive procedure of biopsy in the future.

Prostate cancer is the most common form of cancer in men. When a special blood test shows high levels of prostate antigen (PSA), then doctors usually ask for an ultrasound biopsy, a procedure that is done with needles through which samples are taken from the prostate.

The test is not perfect, as it is likely to have serious side effects (bleeding, infections, erectile dysfunction) and can "lose" an aggressive developing cancer if a tissue sample is not taken from the tumor site.

"We would not accept an accidental breast biopsy, but we do accept it for the prostate," said lead researcher Dr Hashim Ahmed of University College London.

The researchers, who published their findings in the medical journal The Lancet, according to the BBC and the British Guardian, studied 576 men with high PSA levels in 11 hospitals using sophisticated (multi-parametric) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machines. ). It was found that in 27% of men biopsy was unnecessary, because the detection of the tumor could be done imaging.

Multi-parametric MRI has proven to be better than biopsy in ruling out prostate cancer, as well as in detecting tumors that are not dangerous because they grow very slowly and thus do not require removal. Magnetic resonance imaging reduces prostate cancer misdiagnosis by 5% compared to biopsy, leading to unnecessary treatments.

The British National Health Service is already considering introducing the practice of multi-parametric magnetic resonance imaging (mpMRI) to all men with a potential prostate.