Prostate Cancer London

Private prostate MRI at Harley Street

What the scan is actually like, who can and cannot have one, and what the score on your report means.

Written and reviewed by Mr Ashwin Sridhar, Consultant Urological Surgeon

Time in the scanner
35 to 45 min
A standalone scan
£900 to £1,200
For the formal report
2 to 4 days
The scan works from the outside
Nothing inside you

The scan, from arrival to going home

If you have never had an MRI, this is what the appointment actually involves, minute by minute.

  1. Arriving and changing

    The radiographer welcomes you and runs through a short safety questionnaire to confirm you have no internal metalwork, such as a pacemaker or surgical clips. You change into a gown in a private cubicle, and your watch, phone and wallet go into a secure locker.

  2. The cannula

    A small, flexible cannula goes into a vein in your arm or hand. Through it you are given Buscopan, which briefly quietens the bowel so the images stay sharp, and a standard contrast dye that highlights the prostate blood vessels. You may feel a brief cooling sensation. Nothing is inserted into your back passage.

  3. Getting into the scanner

    You lie on your back on a cushioned bed, and a lightweight pad rests over your hips like a blanket to act as the aerial. The scanner is a wide, modern tube, open at both ends, well lit and well ventilated.

  4. The scan itself

    Thirty-five to forty-five minutes, broken into short two to five minute sequences while you rest quietly and breathe normally. The machine makes loud, rhythmic knocking noises, so you wear padded headphones with your choice of music.

  5. If you feel uncomfortable

    You are never trapped. You hold a soft squeeze-bulb, and pressing it stops the scan and slides you straight out. The radiographer can see you through the window and speaks to you between sequences.

  6. Going home

    The cannula comes out, you change back into your clothes, and you can eat, drink and carry on with your day immediately. An extra glass of water helps clear the contrast. As long as you have not taken a sedative, you can drive yourself home.

Who cannot have one, and what we do instead

An MRI is safe and routine for most men, but there are situations that need extra care or rule the scan out.

Pacemakers and defibrillators
The strong magnetic field can interfere with device settings. Many modern pacemakers are MRI-conditional, meaning a scan is safe if the cardiology team checks the device and places it in a protected mode beforehand. For older, non-compatible devices, the scan cannot be performed.
Metalwork inside the body
This depends entirely on what it is and where it sits. Modern hip and knee replacements, titanium screws and dental fillings are firmly anchored in bone and are generally safe, although metal near the pelvis can cast a shadow across the pictures. Metal fragments near the eyes, older brain aneurysm clips or magnetic implants need careful checking against your surgical records first.
Severe claustrophobia
Wide-bore scanners with good lighting and airflow, constant communication through headphones and a call button in your hand help most men manage comfortably. For those who still feel overwhelmed, a mild calming tablet taken shortly before the scan settles nerves, provided someone else drives you home.
Kidney function
Your kidneys clear the contrast dye from your bloodstream, which is why a kidney check is part of the bloods. If your kidney function is significantly reduced, contrast carries a rare risk of tissue irritation. In those cases we either perform a non-contrast MRI, which still gives high-quality structural images of the prostate, or reconsider whether the scan is the right test.

For a man who genuinely cannot have an MRI because of an incompatible implant or another safety reason, we do not leave you without answers. The main alternative is high-resolution transrectal ultrasound imaging paired with Doppler blood flow assessment. We combine that with your PSA history, your free-to-total PSA ratio and your examination findings to guide your care safely without going near the magnet.

What your score means

Your report comes back with a number from 1 to 5. This is what each one means for you.

When your prostate MRI is reviewed by the specialist radiologist, every section of the gland is graded using an international reporting standard called PI-RADS, the Prostate Imaging Reporting and Data System. Think of it not as a cancer grade or a percentage, but as a five-point probability scale telling us how likely a particular area on the scan is to represent a clinically significant prostate cancer.

The PI-RADS scale, 1 to 5A consultant uro-radiologist grades the MRI on the international PI-RADS scale from 1 to 5. A score of 1 or 2 is reassuring and usually means no biopsy. A score of 3, 4 or 5 means a targeted look is discussed with you.PI-RADS SCORE12345ReassuringUsually no biopsyA target is seenA targeted look is discussed
A biopsy is never done on the day. If a target is seen, it is planned as a separate step after you have talked it through.
PI-RADS 1
Your scan is completely normal and healthy, with no visible abnormalities or suspicious features anywhere in the gland. You get full reassurance, no biopsy is needed, and we agree a sensible routine timetable for monitoring your PSA in future.
PI-RADS 2
The scan has picked up some changes, but they have all the classic hallmarks of harmless, benign tissue: ordinary age-related enlargement, small non-cancerous nodules, or quiet areas of old inflammation. The likelihood of significant cancer remains very low, so an invasive biopsy is safely avoided. Any urinary symptoms are treated with lifestyle advice or gentle medication alongside regular PSA surveillance.
PI-RADS 3
The middle ground: an equivocal finding. The scan shows a subtle smudge or shadow that cannot be definitively called benign, but does not carry the full features of an aggressive cancer either. This is the score where we never rush or guess. We match the scan against your PSA density, your family history and your examination. If your PSA density is very low it is often entirely safe to re-scan in six to twelve months. If it is on the higher side, we may recommend a targeted biopsy to be certain.
PI-RADS 4
The radiologist has identified a distinct, focal target area that is suspicious for significant prostate cancer. It is still not a diagnosis of cancer. It is a clear prompt that tissue needs examining under a microscope. The next step is a planned, precision transperineal targeted biopsy, using the MRI images like a digital map to sample that exact spot.
PI-RADS 5
There is a prominent, well-defined lesion carrying a very high probability of being clinically significant prostate cancer. As with a 4, this requires a targeted biopsy to confirm the exact cell type and how aggressive it is. We guide you through it without delay, reviewing the scan slices together on screen so you understand exactly what we are sampling.

Why the scan and the blood test belong together

On its own, neither test tells the whole story. Read on the same day, they turn guesswork into precision.

A PSA blood test is sensitive, but it is not specific to cancer. Natural growth of the gland, a minor urine infection, vigorous cycling or simple inflammation can all push the number up. Rely on the blood test alone and a slightly raised reading often triggers intense panic, weeks of anxiety, and frequently an uncomfortable biopsy that was never needed. An MRI is an exceptional visual tool, but it is not a crystal ball either. A scan can show subtle shadows, age-related nodules or old inflammation that look uncertain without the biological context of your blood chemistry.

Done together on day one, the MRI unlocks what your PSA actually means, through a measurement called PSA density. Prostate tissue naturally produces PSA, so a larger prostate leaks more of it into the bloodstream.

If a blood test shows a PSA of 6.5, that sounds alarming on a printed lab report. But if your MRI on the same morning reveals a large, benign 70cc prostate with completely clear tissue, we can calculate your density immediately. The maths shows your gland volume fully explains the higher number. What looked like a red flag on paper turns out to be harmless, natural growth, sparing you a biopsy and months of worry.

If your PSA is 5.0 and your MRI shows a small, 25cc prostate with a focal shadow, the same calculation gives a high density. That tells us the gland is producing far more PSA than its size warrants. Because we already have the imaging in hand, we do not need random, blind needle sampling. We can use the scan like a precise road map to target that exact spot.

Sequencing these tests weeks apart creates delay and prolonged anxiety. Doing them together in one coordinated morning measures the biology in your blood, inspects the anatomy on the scan, correlates the two immediately, and gives you clarity within days rather than months.

How quickly you get the scan, and the report

How soon you can be scanned, and how long a proper report takes. Anyone offering it instantly is cutting corners.

Getting booked in for a multiparametric MRI in private practice is straightforward and fast. Once you decide to proceed, an imaging slot can usually be arranged within twenty-four to forty-eight hours, and often on the very same morning as your consultation if it is scheduled as part of a coordinated visit.

Turning the scan around with a formal report is where precision matters more than raw speed. An advanced prostate MRI requires meticulous, slice-by-slice evaluation by a dedicated consultant uro-radiologist. Delivering a comprehensive PI-RADS report alongside full laboratory blood processing realistically takes two to four working days. A turnaround of two to three days for specialist reporting is standard across good private radiology departments, and anyone promising an instant, off-the-cuff read on the spot is usually cutting corners on the depth of the analysis.

Factoring in the scan, sub-specialist reporting and laboratory analysis of your PSA and kidney function, you can expect to sit down for your results consultation within five to seven days of your first visit. That window allows proper expert scrutiny while removing the weeks of fragmented waiting that cause so much unnecessary anxiety.

How to prepare

What to wear, what to eat, and what to tell us before you come in.

  • Wear loose clothing with no metal zips, studs or underwires, and leave heavy watches and jewellery at home.
  • No fasting. Eat normally, drink water as usual, and take all your regular medications.
  • Try not to urinate just before arriving if a urine sample is part of your visit. We collect a mid-stream sample at check-in.
  • Tell us in advance about any pacemaker, implant, surgical metalwork or severe claustrophobia, so the right checks or arrangements are made before you come in.

A scan on its own, or the whole answer

A scan gives you pictures. Whether that is what you need depends on why you are here.

A scan on its own gives you pictures. The Complete Assessment gives you an answer. For £2,500 you get the consultation and examination, bloods including total and free PSA, urine analysis, the MRI with contrast on the same morning, formal reporting by a specialist uro-radiologist, and a results consultation within 5 to 7 days where your PSA is read against your measured gland volume. The fee is fixed and there are no separate hospital or radiologist invoices.

A standalone scan runs between £900 and £1,200 depending on the imaging centre and how the report is provided. That buys you the pictures. It does not include a consultant to examine you, the PSA and kidney bloods that give the scan its meaning, or the appointment where someone sits with you and explains what the images show. Those are the difference between a scan and an answer, and they are what the assessment adds.

If imaging on its own is genuinely what you want, we can arrange it. The full case for scanning before any biopsy is on MRI first or biopsy first.

Written and medically reviewed

Mr Ashwin Sridhar, Consultant Urological Surgeon

Last reviewed 1 September 2026.

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Questions men ask

Can't find yours? Get in touch and our team will answer it.

No. A multiparametric prostate MRI does not use an endorectal coil. All the imaging is captured from the outside. You lie on your back on a cushioned bed with a lightweight plastic pad resting over your hips like a blanket, which acts as the aerial.
A small cannula goes into a vein in your arm or hand. Through it you are given Buscopan, a mild medication that briefly quietens the bowel so the images stay sharp, and a standard MRI contrast dye that highlights the prostate blood vessels. You may feel a momentary cooling sensation as the dye goes in.
You are never trapped. The scanner is a wide, modern tube, open at both ends, well lit and well ventilated. You hold a soft squeeze-bulb, and pressing it stops the scan and slides you straight out. The radiographer can see you throughout and speaks to you between sequences. If your claustrophobia is severe, tell us beforehand and a mild calming tablet can be arranged, though you will then need someone else to drive you home.
Yes, as long as you have not taken a sedative. Once the scan finishes the cannula comes out, you change back into your clothes, and you can eat, drink and carry on with your day immediately. An extra glass of water helps clear the contrast dye.
Possibly. Many modern pacemakers are MRI-conditional, meaning the scan is safe if the cardiology team checks the device and places it in a protected mode beforehand. Older, non-compatible devices rule the scan out. Tell us in advance either way, along with any surgical metalwork, so the right checks happen before you come in.
An imaging slot can usually be arranged within twenty-four to forty-eight hours. The formal report takes two to four working days, because a consultant uro-radiologist reads the scan slice by slice and scores it on the PI-RADS scale. Anyone promising an instant read on the spot is cutting corners on the depth of the analysis.

Get the whole answer in one visit

The Complete Assessment brings the consultation, bloods, examination and MRI into one Harley Street morning, with a consultant's answer within a week. £2,500, everything included.

Book the Complete Assessment Ask the team to call you back