Comparison of Multi-parametric and Bi-parametric Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Men With Suspicion of Prostate Cancer

Prostatic Neoplasm

magnetic resonance imaging, prostate biopsy, microRNA

To compare the detection rate of biparametric (bp) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for clinically significant prostate cancer (PCa) with that of multiparametric (mp)-MRI, in biopsy-naïve patients. Today, bp-MRI is not the standard diagnostic procedure, however preliminary studies showed its non-inferiority with respect to mp-MRI. Its implementation on a wide scale could significantly reduce examination costs (no iv contrast agent and no endorectal coil), and study time. Secondary objectives will be: * to assess specificity of a blood test based on microRNA (miR) score in biopsy-naïve patients, using pathological assessment after MR-guided biopsy as reference standard. If specificity of the miR score is higher than that of PSA, then fewer patients will undergo unnecessary MRI, thus increasing the efficiency of the diagnostic pipeline for PCa; * to develop a clinical decision support system (CDSS) based on MRI and circulating miR evaluation, to stratify patients according to their risk of PCa progression, using pathological assessment after prostatectomy as reference standard. Patients will be stratified into two classes of risk: i) low-risk PCa, in which patients may benefit from a conservative approach (i.e. active surveillance), and ii) medium/high-risk PCa in which patients should undergo radical treatment (i.e. surgery or radiation therapy).

The trial is a prospective, randomized, two-arms study with a 2:1 ratio. Subjects meeting the inclusion criteria will be randomized either into the bp-MRI group (arm A), or the mp-MRI one (arm B). All subjects will perform blood sampling in EDTA tubes before undergoing imaging session. Plasma will be isolated within 1 hour from sampling, with a double round centrifugation, aliquoted and stored at -80°C before undergoing miR analysis. MRI will be performed with a 1.5 T using axial T2w and diffusion-weighted imaging for subjects in arm A with no endorectal coil and no intravenous contrast agent. Men randomized in arm B will undergo MRI with T2w in the three acquisition planes, diffusion-weighted and dynamic contrast-enhanced imaging usign endorectal coil. Random biopsy will be performed in subjects with no suspicious regions for PCa found on MRI. Men with suspicious regions on MRI will be invited to a targeted or in-bore biopsy.

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