Cure My Disease

Don't miss your cure!

 Log in / Sign up

Virtual biopsy: a painless MRI scan that spots aggressive prostate cancer

NCT ID NCT04420702

Diagnosis Sponsor: Washington University School of Medicine Source: ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

What the study statuses mean

This study's is highlighted.

Recruitment status, easiest to join first

Recruiting now This study
This trial is taking on new participants right now.
Not yet recruiting
Registered, but not yet taking participants.
By invitation only
Not open to general applications. Only people the study team invites can take part.
Paused
Paused for now. It may or may not start again.
Ongoing
Running, but no longer taking on new participants.
Completed
The trial has finished. Results may not be published yet.
Stopped early
Stopped early, before it reached the end. That can be for many reasons, including safety.
Cancelled
Cancelled before anyone took part.

Expanded access (not trials)

Expanded access
Not a trial. This treatment can be requested outside a study, case by case, for people who qualify.
Expanded access (paused)
Not a trial. The treatment can normally be requested outside a study, but is unavailable right now.
Expanded access (ended)
Not a trial. The treatment could once be requested outside a study, but no longer can.
Approved
The treatment has been approved, so it is available normally rather than through this programme.

When the status isn't known

Details not published
The full record has not been published yet, so there is little to show here.
Status unknown
This status has not been confirmed recently, so it may be out of date.

First seen Jul 14, 2026 · Last updated Jul 15, 2026 · Updated 1 time

Summary

This study tests whether a new type of MRI scan, called Diffusion Basis Spectrum Imaging (DBSI), can accurately detect clinically significant prostate cancer without the need for a needle biopsy. Researchers will compare DBSI results to standard biopsy findings in 500 men — some with suspected cancer and others already on active surveillance. If DBSI proves reliable, it could offer a non-invasive, faster, and more comfortable way to diagnose dangerous prostate cancers.

What this could mean

Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.

Active substance
MRI with DBSI analysis
What this could lead to
If successful, this could replace many invasive prostate biopsies with a quick, painless MRI scan, enabling earlier and more accurate detection of dangerous cancers.
What could go wrong
This is a relatively early study comparing DBSI to standard biopsy; the imaging technique may not be accurate enough in all patients, and results need validation in larger, diverse populations.

This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.

Study facts

What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.

Phase

Not a phased trial

Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.

Participants

About 500 people

The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.

Started

Feb 2020

Expected to finish

May 2027

An estimate. End dates often move.

Lead sponsor

Other sponsor

The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.

Who can take part

This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.

Ages

18 years and older

Sex

Male participants only

Healthy volunteers

Not accepted

This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.

Show the full entry requirements

Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.

Inclusion Criteria: * Over 18 years of age and willing and able to provide informed consent. * Patients with no prior diagnosis of prostate cancer, who are planning to undergo prostate biopsy as clinical standard of care ("early detection cohort") * Including those men with: * an elevated PSA and no prior biopsy * an elevated PSA and a negative prior biopsy * Patients with a prior diagnosis of prostate cancer, who are currently managed with active surveillance, who are planning to undergo biopsy as clinical standard of care ("active surveillance cohort") Exclusion Criteria: * Patients with any clinical contraindication to MRI \*Including but not limited to: * Those with metallic implants, such as pacemakers or implantable cardioverter-defibrillators * Those with cochlear implants * Those with claustrophobia not relieved with medications (patients with claustrophobia who do not need medications for the scan or whose claustrophobia can be managed with medication, are eligible to participate) * Those who cannot lie flat for over 1 hour * Patients with prior prostate surgery for prostate cancer (e.g. radical prostatectomy, focal ablation)

Get updates

Get notified about this study

Sign up to get updates when this study changes or when new studies for Prostate cancer are added.

Our safety recommendation!

By submitting, you agree to our Terms of use

Conditions

The condition(s) this trial relates to.

prostate cancer

As listed by the trial registrant

The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.

Prostate cancer

How to take part

Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.

  1. The places running it

    1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.

  2. The official record

    ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.

    Open the record ↗

  3. A doctor treating you

    A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.

Contacts and locations

Locations

  • Washington University School of Medicine

    RECRUITING

    St Louis, Missouri, 63110, United States

More trials for these conditions

Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.