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Cochrane Pivots on Prostate Screening, Rad Burnout, and Visa Relief
May 18, 2026
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Together with
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“[T]there is now a reasonable evidence base to support a conversation about PSA screening. This represents an important change in the evidence for future guideline developers and policy makers to consider.”
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Philipp Dahm, MD, senior author on a new Cochrane review supporting prostate screening.
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Welcome to the week! Our next webinar starts tomorrow at 12 pm ET, when you can hear how radiology and cardiology are turning to enterprise imaging platforms to break out of silos and benefit from shared medical image management. Join radiologists, cardiologists, and executives from AGFA HealthCare to discover what this looks like in the real world. See you there! – Brian Casey, Managing Editor
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Prostate cancer screening is getting new support from an unlikely source – the Cochrane group, which historically has been skeptical of population-based screening. Cochrane researchers last week published a new report supporting prostate screening, a sharp change from the group’s previous guidance.
Prostate cancer screening hasn’t achieved the generally accepted status of other cancer screening tests like breast, cervical, colorectal, and lung.
- One of the main sticking points has been overdiagnosis. Prostate cancer can often be slow-growing, and many men live for years with prostate disease before dying of other causes.
But that dynamic has been changing in recent years, in large measure due to the ability of MRI to differentiate aggressive prostate cancer from more indolent disease.
- Clinicians are incorporating MRI into prostate screening protocols, using it to determine which men with elevated PSA levels should be biopsied and which ones can be followed with active surveillance.
For its part, Cochrane is an international non-profit research consortium that periodically analyzes the peer-reviewed evidence behind new medical exams and technologies.
- But Cochrane’s work has occasionally been controversial: The group last month published a negative review of Alzheimer’s drugs that included treatments that never made it to market. Also, a Cochrane research center in Denmark for years was one of the most vociferous opponents of mammography screening.
So that’s why last week’s statement on prostate screening is so surprising, especially given that Cochrane’s 2013 review found no evidence to support the claim that screening reduced prostate cancer mortality.
In the new review, Cochrane analyzed data from six clinical trials in Europe and North America that included 800k men, finding that screening with PSA blood tests…
- Detected 30% more prostate cancers overall, most at an early stage.
- Reduced the relative risk of a metastatic prostate cancer diagnosis by 35%.
- Reduced prostate cancer mortality by 2 deaths for every 1k men screened (for comparison, mammography’s benefit is estimated to be 6-8 deaths).
- For every 1-2 deaths prevented, 36 additional cancers were diagnosed – a possible sign of overdiagnosis.
What changed? Cochrane researchers said that we now have longer-term data that makes it easier to detect screening’s subtle mortality benefit.
- They also cited the success of technologies like MRI in reducing unnecessary biopsies – and the harms of overdiagnosis.
The Takeaway
Last week’s news suggests that the ground is shifting under prostate cancer screening in favor of broader use of the exam, potentially with MRI follow-ups. If you can convince a screening-skeptical group like Cochrane of prostate screening’s value, you can convince anyone.
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Top-Tier Care in the Rural Setting
Holzer Health System in Jackson, OH, treats local patients like family. In this video, learn how United Imaging equipped Holzer Health with its uMR 570 MRI scanner, helping them to offer top-tier care.
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See Your One-Year Return in 30 Seconds
What’s the return on investment for echo AI? Check out this online calculator from Us2.ai to find out how much capacity AI adds, the additional echo scans that capacity buys you, and the net new revenue.
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Meet Merge at SIIM 2026
Built with clinical and technical expertise, guided by customer insights, and personalized to your needs, Merge imaging solutions deliver reliable imaging, less complexity, and better care. Learn more by booking a meeting at SIIM 2026, or stop by booth #204-206.
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- Study Questions AI for Prostate Screening MRI: While MRI has shown its value for prostate cancer screening, it seems like the jury is still out on AI’s contribution. Writing in a review article in European Journal of Radiology, researchers said “evidence is limited” on AI-aided prostate MRI screening of men without symptoms, even as AI algorithms show promise for lesion detection. But one problem with the review is that only two research studies (Thimansson et al and Winkel et al) out of 47 met its stringent criteria for inclusion.
- AI Improves Prostate Screening: AI-aided MRI improved on conventional prostate cancer screening in a study presented at AUA 2026. Researchers used Lucida’s Pi algorithm in 371 men in the IP1-PROSTAGRAM study, finding that AI decision support achieved equivalent or superior detection of clinically significant prostate cancer while reducing biopsy rates and overdiagnosis compared to three other strategies based on PSA tests and MRI without AI.
- Urine Test Beats MRI for Prostate Surveillance: MRI’s value for characterizing aggressive prostate cancer could be challenged by a simple urine test. In a new study in Journal of Urology, researchers compared the MyProstateScore 2.0 – Active Surveillance urine test to multiparametric MRI in 330 patients under surveillance for low-grade prostate cancer (GG1). The urine test had higher AUC for predicting which patients would be upgraded to GG≥2 and thus require biopsy (0.74 vs. 0.64), and would have avoided more biopsies at GG≥3 (64% vs. 50%).
- Wellness Program Addresses Burnout: A program to reduce radiologist burnout proved popular at a subspecialty community practice with 50 radiologists. As described in Clinical Imaging, the practice took measures like hosting division social events, a financial wellness lecture series, and a 10-minute fitness program (a virtual lunch program was canceled due to lack of interest). The initiative seemed to reduce burnout symptoms, which fell in pre- and post-surveys (from 26% to 16%), although reported isolation fell only slightly (from 47% to 45%).
- U.S. Gives Visa Relief to International Doctors: The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has resumed processing visa applications for international physicians. The move reverses a pause on visa extensions, work permits, and green cards that DHS implemented earlier this year and that threatened the ability of some international doctors – mostly from Africa, the Middle East, and Venezuela – to continue practicing in the U.S. The pause had complicated efforts to address the U.S. physician shortage with foreign-trained doctors.
- Lung Screening Leads to Early Diagnosis: The evidence continues to roll in backing the value of early lung cancer detection. In a new report in JAMA Oncology, researchers tracked the diagnosis stage for 4.4M new U.S. lung cancer cases from 2003 to 2022. The percentage of early-stage diagnoses grew over the period (from 18% to 30%), with a sharp increase in 2014 and 2015. Researchers associated the trend with the USPSTF’s recommendation of CT lung cancer screening in 2013.
- Firms Join Forces on Lung Nodule Tracking: In a partnership designed to improve tracking of suspicious lung nodules, Azra AI and RevealDx agreed to integrate their technologies. RevealDx’s RevealAI-Lung software for characterizing lung nodules and generating malignancy risk scores will be integrated with Azra’s enterprise software for managing incidental findings and automating oncology workflow. The agreement builds on Azra’s acquisition of Thnynk Health last month.
- Viz Launches Pulmonary AI Suite: Viz.ai is launching a new AI suite for pulmonary conditions in conjunction with this week’s ATS 2026 conference. Viz Pulmonary Suite incorporates acute and chronic pulmonary workflow in a single solution, and covers conditions including pulmonary embolism, COPD, and lung nodules. The suite includes the Viz PE application, which was shown in a recent study to reduce time-to-treatment and in-hospital mortality.
- ACR Publishes AI Error Calculator: With renewed attention on the discrepancy between AI accuracy in clinical trials and its performance in the real world, ACR’s Data Science Institute published an online calculator that enables healthcare providers to estimate an AI algorithm’s accuracy if implemented at their institution. The AI Error Rate Estimate Calculator includes variables like patient population, imaging volume, and disease prevalence to help providers estimate how a model will perform when deployed.
- Braid Launches $199 Second Opinions: Braid Health last week launched a new service to provide online second opinions of imaging scans for $199. Patients can upload their own MRI, CT, ultrasound, and X-ray images to Braid’s secure platform, where images are read by U.S. board-certified radiologists. The company is positioning the program as a patient-friendly service that’s an alternative to traditional hospital second opinions, but it could create headaches for radiology facilities that acquired the original scans.
- Contrast Use and Acute Kidney Injury: A new study supports the idea that contrast media may not play as big a role in acute kidney injury as previously thought. Researchers in France analyzed 529 patients with sickle cell disease (a known contributor to kidney damage) who experienced AKI around the time of contrast administration. Relative incidence of AKI was actually lower in the week after contrast administration compared to the week before (2.02 vs. 2.52), suggesting that contrast’s role in causing AKI has been overestimated.
- ACR Supports NRC Rule Reform: The ACR weighed in on the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s effort to reform rules on handling radioisotopes, supporting the NRC’s proposal to relax physical security requirements for healthcare facilities storing radioactive materials. ACR said it supported proposals to extend coordination intervals with local law enforcement, and to remove the requirement for weekly verification of the presence of radioactive materials. The group advised keeping requirements for annual refresher training. NRC has been spearheading a broader review of radiation safety rules.
- United Imaging Enters Radiation Therapy: United Imaging Healthcare made its entry into the European radiation oncology market by showing the uRT-linac 506c linear accelerator-based radiation therapy system at ESTRO 2026. The system is unique in that it uses a diagnostic-quality CT scanner integrated with the linac for guiding treatment – most competing systems use conebeam CT (the differences are explained in this excellent article). United has the CE mark for uRT-linac 506c, but does not yet have 510(k) clearance.
- U.K. Opens $1B AI Tender: The U.K.’s National Health Service has opened a massive £750M ($1B) tender offer to acquire healthcare AI solutions, including for radiology. The Healthcare AI Solutions tender offer is structured as an open framework, meaning approved AI suppliers can sell through the framework rather than having to pitch individual NHS trusts. The offer has a June 23 deadline, which could be challenging given the complexity involved in preparing and submitting bids.
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Driving Advances in Lung Health Through Early Detection
Earlier detection of chest conditions leads to more effective treatments and patient outcomes. Learn more about lung diseases, the impact of early detection, and tools from Riverain Technologies to improve detection accuracy and efficiency.
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Fewer Biopsies, Better Accuracy
AI is converging with TI-RADS and BI-RADS in ways that go beyond automation. In this article from Kailo Medical, learn how structured reporting is reducing unnecessary biopsies, improving consistency, and reclaiming clinical time.
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Accelerating Imaging Workflows in Radiology and Cardiology
Radiology and cardiology are turning to enterprise imaging platforms to break out of silos and benefit from shared medical image management. Join AGFA HealthCare to discover what this looks like in a live discussion on Tuesday, May 19 at 12 pm ET.
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- Experience Dynamic Simplicity in Fluoroscopy: Still on the fence about upgrading to the latest technology that fluoroscopy has to offer? Hear from your peers about their experiences with the first-ever installed LUMINOS Q.namix R system from Siemens Healthineers.
- Visit Visage at SIIM 2026: At this year’s SIIM 2026, Visage Imaging will demonstrate its Visage 7 solution operating across the entire Apple ecosystem, including on Apple Silicon-powered workstations with multiple Studio Display XDRs. Book a priority demo today or drop by booth #404-408.
- AI-Powered Population Health: DeepHealth is assembling radiology’s largest portfolio of AI-enabled radiology solutions for population health. Learn more about their focus and their recent acquisition of Gleamer in this video interview.
- Purpose-Built for Modern Radiology: MosaicOS from Mosaic Clinical Technologies unites clinical expertise, AI, and advanced workflow tools in one intuitive platform. Find out how it can expand your clinical capacity and speed up turnaround times today.
- How AI Is Redefining Data Migration: Enlitic’s Migratek data migration services – combined with AI-enabled ENDEX data standardization – is changing the game for data migration projects. Discover how it can benefit you in this article.
- Enterprise Imaging Without the Monolith: Move beyond rigid imaging environments with flexible enterprise imaging solutions designed for interoperability. Explore Mach7.
- Low Dose, Remarkably Open Design: The Scenaria View CT scanner from Fujifilm Healthcare Americas is a powerful premium CT solution that provides dependable routine application capabilities, including coronary artery imaging with the Focus Edition’s optional Cardio StillShot 3D motion correction technology.
- Rethinking the Radiology Impression: Impressions require synthesis, judgment and time. AI can help reduce that burden – without sacrificing quality or clinical clarity. See how Rad AI supports faster, more consistent impressions. Book a demo.
- Unlock Next-Level Diagnostic Possibilities: Photonova Spectra from GE HealthCare is designed to realize the full potential of photon-counting CT in oncology, cardiology, neurology, and more. Learn more about the difference its Deep Silicon technology makes on this page.
- A Radiology Question Bank with Analytics: Medality’s new DXIT/Core Radiology SmartBank powered by TrueLearn includes over 800 practice questions aligned to the Diagnostic Radiology In-Training and ABR Qualifying (Core) Exam Domain Blueprints. Assess your readiness for test day now.
- Connect Imaging Across Every Care Setting: Join Intelerad at SIIM 2026 to learn how you can connect across every care setting, eliminate disks, and accelerate diagnosis with a network clinicians trust. Book a demo today or drop by booth #305.
- Spectral CT in Cardiovascular Disease: Register today for this Philips webinar on May 20 at 12:00 ET to learn how spectral CT is redefining everyday cardiac practice. Gain practical and actionable insights from real-world cases you can apply immediately to elevate your cardiac imaging approach.
- Leveraging AI-Powered Discovery for Image Exchange: Southwest Medical Imaging, a premier physician-owned radiology practice in the southwestern U.S., partnered with Medicom to streamline their workflow. Discover how they utilize Medicom’s AI-powered Smart Search, which leverages an LLM to automatically detect and surface imaging data, to eliminate manual searching and accelerate patient care.
- Rapid AI Deployment in Emergency Care: University Hospitals used CARPL to deploy AZmed’s fracture detection tool directly in the emergency department, reducing interpretation time by 30% without disrupting workflows. Learn how UH accelerated AI deployment.
- Visit Quibim at ASCO 2026: Stop by Quibim’s booth at ASCO 2026 to learn how they are redefining the future of oncology through their innovative AI-based diagnostic and predictive imaging biomarkers. Book a meeting today or drop by at booth #27149.
- Smarter Reporting and Smoother Workflows: Join Sectra executives on May 27 at 12 pm ET to learn about how smarter reporting and smoother workflows can enable next-generation radiology. Reserve your seat today.
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