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2020 CRIS Cancer Foundation-James Blair-PCF Young Investigator Award

A Multi-Center Study to Assess the Impact of MRI for Detection of Aggressive Prostate Cancer in Men on Active Surveillance

Francesco Giganti, MD

University College London

Mentors: Caroline M. Moore, MD; Monique Roobol-Bouts, PhD

Description:

  • Multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging (mpMRI) has recently emerged as a promising imaging technology for prostate cancer detection and prognosis. MpMRI also appears promising for identifying patients who are optimal candidates for active surveillance, and may have little benefit from immediate therapy, but should still be monitored to allow prompt curative treatment if the disease shows signs of becoming more aggressive and potentially lethal.
  • Dr. Francesco Giganti is developing and validating an mpMRI scoring system(“PRECISE score”) to create a risk stratified active surveillance program that can identify those men at highest risk of progression and metastatic spread.
  • In this project, Dr. Giganti will apply the PRECISE scoring system to identify radiological progression (e.g. growth of tumors on serial scans) using international clinical cohorts of prostate cancer patients on active surveillance. Consensus guidelines for using the PRECISE score for this clinical purpose will be developed.
  • If successful, this project will produce a new standardized method for using serial mpMRI to detect aggressive prostate cancer in patients on active surveillance, and allow closer and more accurate monitoring.

What this means to patients: Dr. Giganti is developing a new standardized mpMRI method (“PRECISE score”) for more accurate risk assessment and monitoring of disease progression in prostate cancer patients undergoing active surveillance. This will lead to reduced global incidence of advanced and potentially lethal prostate cancer.