Men with suspected prostate cancer will be able to get a diagnosis from the NHS within a day, under a new trial hailed as a potential “game changer” for identifying and treating the disease.
The 15 hospitals taking part will use AI technology to interpret MRI scans and spot areas of abnormal tissue within minutes, according to NHS England.
Scans showing a high-cancer risk will be triaged as priority review for a radiologist and patients will be booked for a same-day biopsy.
Around one in eight men will develop prostate cancer in their lives, according to Prostate Cancer UK, with research showing it has overtaken breast cancer as the most commonly diagnosed form of the disease in the UK.
But unlike breast cancer, there is currently no national screening programme for prostate cancer.
Under current best-practice guidelines, men should receive an MRI and biopsy within a week of urgent GP referral – but waits can be longer depending on radiologist capacity.
Data released earlier this month showed that NHS waiting lists have risen for three consecutive months.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting said the trial would cut “needlessly distressing” wait times and improve outcomes for patients.
“By harnessing the power of technology we are revolutionising our NHS,” he said.
The AI software, called Pi, has been developed by Lucida Medical and promoted for its speed and efficiency.
“MRI in the morning, biopsy in the afternoon,” Dr Oliver Hulson wrote on the developer’s website.
According to the National Prostate Cancer Audit, 58,218 men were diagnosed with prostate cancer in England in 2024 – with a rise of more than 5000 diagnoses from the year prior.
Professor Peter Johnson, national clinical director for cancer at the NHS, said he hoped the technology could be a “game changer and help save men weeks of worry and uncertainty”.
Amy Rylance, assistant director of health improvement at Prostate Cancer UK, said Pi could save men the “prolonged anxiety and the bother of hospital trips, while also increasing capacity for our hard-working NHS workforce”.
The announcement of the trial precedes the release of the government’s National Cancer Plan, expected later this year.
