Creating a smarter, safer way to understand prostate cancer without needing a biopsy

Grant information

Reference: MA-TIA25-002
Researchers and Institutions:
Professor Mieke Van Hemelrijck, King's College London
Professor Gerhardt Attard, University College London
Professor Hashim Uddin Ahmed, Imperial College London
Professor Caroline Moore, University College London
Dr Matthew Parry, University College London
Professor Anthony Coolen, Radboud University
Award: £1,438,857

What you need to know

• This project will follow up on more than 1,000 men who've already had prostate scans and samples taken, linking these with NHS records to track who develops cancer over time.

• Using this combination of data, the team will build a tool that could spot at diagnosis which men's cancers are likely to quickly grow and spread, and which may stay low risk.

• If it works, fewer men could need unnecessary biopsies and treatment, while those with dangerous cancers could get the right care for them much sooner.

Why are we funding this research?

One of the biggest challenges in diagnosing prostate cancer is knowing which cancers are dangerous and which aren’t. Despite advances in MRI scanning and genetic testing, diagnosing the disease and predicting how it will behave is still based on studying biopsy samples under a microscope and assigning them a Gleason score.

This means that doctors are only seeing part of the bigger picture, missing out on the valuable extra information that could come from combining biopsy data with scans, medical history, and blood or urine tests.

As a result, some men with lower-risk cancer go through biopsies or treatments that they don’t actually need, experiencing side effects or infections along the way, while others with more aggressive cancer aren’t found or treated early enough, reducing their chances of a cure.

This project, ReIMAGINE[Life], aims to tackle this by developing a tool that could predict how a man’s prostate cancer will behave over time using the combination of information from these tests.

What will the researchers do?

To develop their prediction tool, the researchers will follow up on more than 1,000 men who have already had detailed scans and samples taken as part of an earlier study called ReIMAGINE[Risk].

The team will link the existing data from the study – including MRI scans, blood, urine and biopsy samples – to the men’s NHS records so they can track what happens to each man over time. Through this, they’ll be able to see which men saw their cancer grow and spread after diagnosis, and which did not.

Using this combination of clinical data and real-world information, the researchers will train computer models to look for patterns that predict what a cancer will do next. In other words, are there features that more commonly show up in the MRI scans, blood tests and genetic tests of men with slow-growing cancers, compared to men with aggressive disease?

The team will then test how well this approach works by comparing their tool’s predictions with what actually happens to the men as time goes by. They’ll also continuously refine their tool as they get access to more follow-up data from the men, helping it to become ever more accurate.

How will this benefit men?

This research could make a real difference to how men experience prostate cancer care day to day. At the moment, many men face difficult choices with limited certainty. Some go through treatment they may never have needed, risking long-term side effects like problems with bladder control or erections. Others live with the anxiety of monitoring their cancer, unsure whether it might suddenly become more serious.

By improving how accurately doctors can predict risk, this project could bring much more confidence to those decisions. Men with low-risk cancer may feel more reassured about safely avoiding or delaying treatment, knowing their situation has been assessed in a more reliable way. At the same time, men whose cancer is more likely to grow or spread could be spotted sooner and offered treatment at the right moment, rather than later when options may be more limited.

In the longer term, this kind of approach could lead to more personalised care. Instead of a one-size-fits-all pathway, each man’s care could be better matched to his individual risk, helping to protect quality of life while still tackling cancers that need treatment.