MRI for Prostate
Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men in the UK, with over 40,000 new cases diagnosed every year.
Medical Imaging Partnership has over 10 years’ experience and expertise in using MRI technology to accurately and efficiently assess prostate symptoms.
We offer specialist prostate 3T MRI scans which offer a fast and painless way to assess prostate health.
A multi-parametric MRI (mpMRI) scan is the preferred route to determine whether any further investigation is needed. This can help your doctor see if there is any cancer inside your prostate, and how quickly any cancer is likely to grow.
Research has now shown that it may be more useful to do an mpMRI scan than a standard scan, and to do it at an earlier stage – before you have a prostate biopsy.
A mpMRI scan produces more detailed pictures of your prostate than a standard MRI scan. It does this by combining up to four different types of image. These images give your doctor information about whether or not there is any cancer inside your prostate, and how quickly any cancer is likely to grow.
There are two main ways that an mpMRI scan may be useful before a biopsy.
- It can help your doctor decide if you need a prostate biopsy.
- If you do need a biopsy, it should be possible to use the scans to make the biopsy more accurate.
Prostate cancer usually develops slowly, so there may be no signs you have it for many years
Symptoms often only become apparent when your prostate is large enough to affect the urethra (the tube that carries urine from the bladder to the penis).
When this happens, you may notice things like an increased need to urinate, straining while urinating and a feeling that your bladder has not fully emptied.
These symptoms shouldn’t be ignored, but they do not mean you definitely have prostate cancer.