Scientists Establish New Guidelines for Improved MRI Prostate Cancer Diagnosis

The Joint Steering Committee of the American College of Radiology (ACR; Reston, VA, USA), AdMeTech Foundation (Boston, MA, USA),and the European Society of Urogenital Radiology (ESUR; Vienna, Austria) released new clinical imaging guidelines to help in the early detection and treatment of prostate cancer. The new guidelines were announced at the meeting of AdMeTech’s International Prostate MRI Working Group (AdMeTech’s Group), held in conjunction with the annual meeting of the Radiologic Society of North America (RSNA), November 30 to December 5, 2014, in Chicago (IL, USA).

The Joint Steering Committee developed Prostate Imaging Reporting and Data System Version-2, (PI-RADSv2) as global guidelines for high quality multiparametric prostate magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) service. This research has built on the initial PI-RADS standardization, which was recommended by AdMeTech’s Group in 2010 and created by ESUR in 2011. PI-RADSv2 has defined minimum technical requirements for creating images and in coordination with RSNA’s Radiologic Lexicon Committee, set standards for communicating the risk and location of aggressive prostate cancer. These clinical guidelines were established to accelerate wide-scale transfer of the high quality clinical service from the few leading research centers to the international medical community.

Modeled after similar mammography developments that transformed breast cancer care, AdMeTech’s Group has brought together global specialists in medicine and industry who have been working in cooperation to expedite the advancement, testing, standardization and implementation of prostate MRI since 2007. PI-RADSv2 will become available on ACR's website in December 2014.

Prostate cancer is the most common major cancer in the United States and the second deadly lethal cancer in men. While prostate cancer has become more common than even breast cancer, men do not have accurate diagnostic tools analogous to life-saving mammograms. The PI-RADSv2 guidelines for prostate MRI service will address the central needs in patient care (1) To improve early identification of life-threatening prostate cancer by replacing “blind” and random biopsies (which fail to analyze over 99% of the prostate) with image-guided, precisely targeted procedures; (2) to reduce overdiagnosis of benign and dormant diseases, which currently leads to unnecessary biopsies in up to one million men and unnecessary treatment in over 90,000 men each year; and, lastly, (3) to guide selection of the most effective treatment.

“PI-RADSv2 builds on the tremendous success of ACR’s Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System [BI-RADS] that has improved breast cancer detection and treatment worldwide. This new system, which was initiated by AdMeTech’s Group, expands and improves on the original work by ESUR and continues radiology's history of working collaboratively to save lives and make health care more efficient,” said Jeffrey Weinreb, MD, professor of radiology at Yale University (New Haven, CT, USA) and co-chair of the Joint Steering Committee.

“PI-RADSv2 is a major step forward in the global standardization of prostate MRI, and will result in fast and reliable implementation of high quality diagnostic examinations all over the world. This will have a tremendously positive effect on the quality of patient care,” said Jelle Barentsz, MD, professor of radiology at Radboud University (The Netherlands) and co-chair of the Joint Committee.

“The urgent need for the advancement of prostate cancer diagnosis has been highlighted by the bi-partisan National Prostate Cancer Council Act, recently introduced by US Senators Barbara Boxer and Jeff Sessions,” said Dr. Faina Shtern, CEO of AdMeTech Foundation, chair of the International Prostate MRI Working Group and a member of the Joint Steering Committee. “PI-RADS global guidelines for high quality prostate MRI represent a groundbreaking development in achieving the ultimate goal of this legislation—to empower physicians and patients in making fully informed and individualized decisions on healthcare options.”

The ACR is a US professional organization serving more than 34,000 radiologists, radiation oncologists, interventional radiologists, nuclear medicine physicians, and medical physicists with programs focusing on the practice of radiology and the delivery of wide-ranging health care services.

AdMeTech Foundation is a nonprofit organization focused on ending the prostate cancer crisis. Through its Manogram Project, the organization provides global leadership in research, education, awareness, and advocacy to facilitate the advances in prostate cancer care and their transfer to clinics. AdMeTech’s International Prostate MRI Working Group integrates expertise and resources of the top scientific laboratories into a comprehensive research program.

The European Society of Urogenital Radiology (ESUR) was founded in 1990, to promote high quality science and clinical practice of urogenital radiology. Members of the ESUR are the world-leading radiologists in urogenital radiology. This society was especially successful in establishing guidelines on the safe use of contrast media and on female genital imaging, and more recently on standardization of prostate MRI.

Related Links:
Joint Steering Committee of the American College of Radiology 
AdMeTech Foundation 
European Society of Urogenital Radiology