Overview

• The international PRIME trial, involving 555 men at 22 hospitals across 12 countries, found biparametric MRI equaled the three-part standard for detecting clinically important prostate cancer.
• Detection rates were identical at 29% for both scan types, with biopsies used to confirm diagnoses.
• The two-part scan takes 15–20 minutes versus 30–40 minutes, drops the contrast injection and reduces the need for a clinician to be present, enabling greater scanning capacity.
• On NHS pricing cited by researchers, the two-part scan costs about £145 compared with £273 for the three-part protocol, a 47% reduction.
• Researchers and advocates say the results should spur NICE to prepare a review and help inform the upcoming TRANSFORM screening trial, while independent experts urge safeguards against overdiagnosis and stress training and quality control; UK ministers have voiced support for targeted screening.