The prostate MRI like the one I had is not unique.  I mentioned in an earlier blog that a urologist in Florida does 3T MRI screenings for a fee, some of which is paid by insurance.  This is also an area with clinical research, such as the study I entered at the NIH.  I was told that I was somewhere around the 75th patient in this particular trial.  I believe this is the link for the trial I entered, but it may be a related trial and not the exact one where I participated:

http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00182624

Other major centers are doing similar research, notably, the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center at Harvard and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York.  These are all among the top research institutions for prostate cancer.  You can search for such trials at www.clinicaltrials.gov.  Here’s a few I found that might be similar:

http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00588679

http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00429338

http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00831142

These are just a few active studies I found that appear to be recruiting participants.  These may vary from the study I entered in important ways, so you would need to read about the details and contact the researchers to make sure the study applies to you.  For example, some may have age limits or require that patients have a positive biopsy result for prostate cancer.  There may also be other studies I didn’t find in a quick search, or those that are still open but not actively recruiting.  It doesn’t hurt to email a researcher if you find one like this.  Clinical trials aren’t for everyone.  They may or may not help in a diagnosis or treatment.  You have to do a lot of your own research to determine if one is right for you.  Remember that not only might a clinical trial help you in the short term, but they will help others in the long term by advancing the technology for detection and treatment of prostate cancer.