Some prostate cancers ‘can be diagnosed without biopsy’ – study

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By Ella Pickover, PA Media

Some prostate cancers can be diagnosed without the need for an invasive biopsy, according to a study.

For some men, cancer can be detected through an MRI scan alone with a high degree of certainty, according to experts from University College London Hospitals (UCLH).

In many hospitals, patients with suspected prostate cancer will be referred for a magnetic resonance imaging and depending on the images, a biopsy may be recommended.

In other hospitals, those with suspected cancer will be referred straight for a biopsy.

A new study has found that some men may not need to have this procedure done and could have their cancer diagnosed by MRI alone.

The research looked at 880 men who attended UCLH’s one-stop clinic for suspected prostate cancer over a one-year period. All of the men had a prostate MRI.

Four radiologists looked at scan results combined with the patient’s age and their prostate-specific antigen (PSA) score.