Piedmont confirms itself as a national reference point in medical research and innovation applied to cancer prevention. This is demonstrated by the new study on prostate cancer screening, covered by La Stampa in an article by Alessandro Mondo, which aims to gather the scientific evidence needed to build an organised screening programme integrated into the public health system.
To learn more about the initiative and read Alessandro Mondo’s full article published in La Stampa, click here.
Among the key figures in the study is Daniele Regge, internationally recognised radiologist and Chief Medical Officer of Health Triage, who highlights the increasingly central role of advanced diagnostics: «From a radiological perspective, integrating MRI into the screening pathway allows for a much more accurate characterisation of lesions. Preliminary data confirm that we can improve the identification of clinically significant tumours, while avoiding unnecessary investigations at the same time.»
A result also supported by Stefano De Luca, urologist at the San Luigi Gonzaga Hospital in Orbassano and co-investigator in the study: greater clinical appropriateness, thanks to the ability to more precisely select patients for biopsy, reducing unnecessary invasive procedures and focusing resources on cases with a genuine suspicion of significant disease.
As highlighted by Vittoria Grammatico, head of the ASL’s Screening Assessment and Organisation Unit, “the study also represents a fundamental step towards building an organised prostate cancer screening programme, with the aim of ensuring quality, effectiveness and equitable access for citizens.”
MRI is today a fundamental tool in the diagnosis of prostate cancer, as it allows the identification and localisation of suspicious lesions. However, the precise definition of tumour aggressiveness — essential for guiding therapeutic decisions — still requires, in clinical practice, histological analysis obtained through tissue biopsy. The latter has some limitations in terms of diagnostic accuracy and may be associated with procedure-related complications.
In this context, the innovation developed by Health Triage with V-Bio, a software medical device based on artificial intelligence that aims to perform a “virtual biopsy”, comes into play. The system analyses MRI images already acquired during the diagnostic process and generates an index correlated to tumour aggressiveness in real time, without requiring further invasive procedures on the patient. The goal is to provide clinicians with additional information useful for evaluating the disease and to help reduce the use of traditional biopsies in appropriate cases.
The collaboration between healthcare facilities, specialists, research centres and technology start-ups once again confirms Piedmont’s ability to transform scientific innovation into concrete prevention models, helping to shape the future of public health.
