Prostate Cancer

Prostate cancer is the most common male cancer and affects most patients in later life. There are 48,000 new UK cases a year, and incidence is projected to increase by 12% each year.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines define current best practice for the diagnosis and management of prostate cancer. For patients with localised, slowly growing (low-risk) cancers, active surveillance is often the preferred monitoring strategy. Active surveillance can avoid or delay the need for further treatment until it is required, and only patients whose cancer shows signs of progressing are considered for radical therapies like radiotherapy or surgery. 

However, there remains a need for improved, objective criteria for determining which patients should remain on active surveillance and which should switch to definitive therapy.

With the project, we will develop an AI-based assessment of longitudinal changes on multi-parametric magnetic resonance imaging (mp-MRI) images of the prostate in patients on active surveillance. 

We will follow NICE guidelines for the diagnosis and management of prostate cancer, and while using AI-enabled assessment, address the need for improved and objective criteria for the decision to stay on active surveillance vs. switching to definitive therapy.