MRI scans could pick up thousands of prostate cancer cases missed by blood tests, a study suggests.
Tens of thousands of men get checked for the tumours every year and 52,000 annual cases make it the most common cancer for blokes.
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Standard tests include a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood test and a manual exam.
Scientists at University College London say using simple MRI scans could pick up far more cases early.
Their study found 29 cancer cases in 303 men, with 25 picked up by MRI compared to just four by the PSA test alone.
Study author Professor Caroline Moore said: “Over half the men with clinically significant cancer would have been reassured that they didn’t by a PSA test alone.
“That is a sobering thought and reiterates the need to consider a new approach.”
Writing in the journal BMJ Oncology, experts added that the rates of “overdiagnosis” were low.
There is no screening for prostate cancer because tests can detect “insignificant” tiny or slow-growing tumours where treatment would be more damaging than leaving it alone.
Many men live with prostate cancer for years without it impacting their lives – 78 per cent survive more than a decade after diagnosis.
Simon Grieveson, from Prostate Cancer UK, said: “MRI scans have revolutionised the way we diagnose prostate cancer.
“These results are extremely exciting, and we now want to see much larger studies to understand if using MRI could form the basis of a national screening programme.
“We desperately need screening to help us catch more cancers early and save thousands of men’s lives each year.”
Professor Sir Mike Richards, chair of the UK’s National Screening Committee which advises the government, said it “notes the study with interest”.
He said: “The committee does not currently recommend prostate cancer screening because there is no clear evidence that the benefits outweigh the harms.”