The ReIMAGINE PCa Risk Study
What is the purpose of this study?
The ReIMAGINE Prostate Cancer (PCa) Risk Study set out to recruit 1,000 men who had been referred to the standard NHS prostate cancer diagnostic pathway. These patients agreed to provide urine, blood, and prostate tissue samples, as well as copies of their MRI images, certain clinical data, and high-definition digital images of tissue taken in their biopsy. This invaluable material will allow us to better understand how prostate cancer develops, and why some prostate cancers are more aggressive or less responsive to treatment than others. We also want to develop new understandings of cancer risk: both in terms of the risk of having cancer, and the risk of whether or not that cancer will worsen and spread. This will help us to develop new risk stratification tools and systems, which means we can better individually tailor the cancer care we provide for patients.
Why is this research being done?
Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men the UK – one in eight men will develop prostate cancer and the risk increases with age. The ReIMAGINE project seeks to improve our ability to identify which of these men has cancer that will decrease either their quality or quantity of life. The ReIMAGINE Consortium has been created to undertake new and exciting discovery in this area, combining, for the first time, the underlying molecular changes in the cancer with state-of-the-art imaging tools and technology. This will also allow us to better predict which prostate cancers are likely to progress over time and which are not. By doing so, men will be subject to fewer but better biopsies, improved risk stratification (identifying and assigning patient risk status), appropriate treatment allocation, more benefit, less harm and more cost-effective care.
What are the benefits of taking part in the study?
The ReIMAGINE consortium is a collaborative effort between over 15 international academic and commercial organisations. These partners are working together to create and refine new tests, and also develop risk stratification tools and prediction models that we hope will shape the future of prostate cancer care. The data and samples our study patients share with us will also create a unique and incredible resource for other future studies and researchers, further maximising the amazing contribution of our participants and the impact of this project. Not only will our partners be able to try new tests for prostate cancer, but also seek to further our understand of prostate cancer itself and its development. They will develop and test new Artificial Intelligence Imaging analysis tools, explore new complex mathematical analytical methods, and collaborate and work together to speed up progress. The study team will also be performing life-long follow up with all participants remotely to better understand their long-term outcomes.
Who is being included in the study?
1039 men who had been referred to the NHS prostate cancer pathway were recruited for this study. They had to have an MRI showing an area or lesion that was suspicious for prostate cancer but have no history of previous treatment for prostate cancer. Men were recruited from three London hospitals: University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust and The Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust.
What is the status of the study?
The ReIMAGINE PCa Risk study has been completed.
Who is carrying out the study?
The study is being conducted by University College London, who is the sponsor of the research. The study is funded by the Medical Research Council and Cancer Research UK, grant no: MR/R014043/1 as part of the MRC’s Stratified Medicine Initiative.
If I have any questions, who can I contact?
For more information about the study see the ReIMAGINE consortium website https://www.reimagine-pca.org/
View also the ReIMAGINE PCa Risk Study record on ClinicalTrials.gov: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04060589
You can also contact us by email at reimagine@ucl.ac.uk