Do MRI-targeted prostate biopsies lead to over-diagnosis and over-treatment??!!

5th March 2022

Well the data are clear, says eminent biostatistician and research methodologist, Dr Andrew Vickers of Memorial-Sloan Kettering Cancer Centre in New York. In some well constructed recent articles, Andrew has really made us think again about the impact of moving to MRI-directed triage and targeted biopsies, instead of "blind" systematic biopsies. Could it be that this strategy actually leads to harm, rather than the clear benefits which many assume that MRI has brought to prostate cancer diagnostics?? We are joined today by Andrew, and two household names in the world of MRI-targeted biopsies to defend the practice (which is now recommended by all major guidelines). Professor Caroline Moore, Urologist at University College London, and Dr Veeru Kasivisvanathan, Urology Fellow at Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in Melbourne. Veeru and Caroline were first and senior authors on the landmark PRECISION trial published in NEJM in 2018 which led to the adoption of MRI in early detection of prostate cancer. And Dr Renu Eapen is back from her travels and in her usual co-hosting role, along with Professor Declan Murphy. Plus Dr Aoife McVey returns to tell us what caught her eye on twitter this week. A cracking episode!

Links:

Dr Andrew Vickers Twitter https://twitter.com/VickersBiostats

Professor Caroline Moore Twitter https://twitter.com/mrsprostate

Dr Veeru Kasivisvanathan Twitter https://twitter.com/veerukasi

Dr Aoife McVey Twitter https://twitter.com/aoifemcvey

Dr Laura Bukavina Twitter https://twitter.com/LauraBukavinaMD

Andrew's recent European Urol article on the harms of MRI-targeted biopsies ($) https://www.europeanurology.com/article/S0302-2838(21)01867-4/fulltext Renu's ASCO GU talk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivAPFpulHCo

Or click here for the audio-only version