Researchers from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center revealed in a new study that diagnostic MRI followed by one of three MRI-guided biopsy strategies could be a cost-effective detection method for prostate cancer.

Shivani Pahwa, MD, first author of the study, and colleagues compared MR-guided approaches to the current standard of transrectal ultrasound-guided biopsies, publishing their findings in Radiology. Using MRI to assist in detecting lesions and guide biopsies increased standardized quality-adjusted life years for patients and was cost effective in 94 percent of the stimulations.

"Many consider MRIs to be cost-prohibitive, especially when evaluating for a common entity such as prostate cancer. This was our expectation as well, prior to doing this work, but our study found the opposite. We found that performing MRI before biopsy and using that information to alter biopsy pathways would be a strategy that would add health benefits to the patient population in a cost effective manner," said Vikas Gulani, MD, PhD, study advisor and associate professor of radiology, urology and biomedical engineering at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, in a statement.

This new approach is also beneficial because it is non-invasive compared to transrectal ultrasound. Although MRI scans are pricey, patients may reap the benefits of it leading them into proper treatment pathways. The current estimate of prostate cancer care costs are at a staggering $10 billion annually in the U.S., and these numbers are steadily increasing.  

"Costs are escalating in part due to expensive and inefficient diagnostic pathways, and placement of patients in incorrect treatment groups,” said Gulani. “If we can maximize efficiency in how we identify clinically significant lesions and diagnose patients, we can reduce unnecessary treatments for our patients, and reduce costs to our hospitals."