Update on PRAISE-U Project – European Union Initiative in PC Screening

Monique Roobol, PhD, presented “Update on PRAISE-U Project – European Union Initiative in PC Screening” during the 9th Global Summit on Precision Diagnosis and Treatment of Prostate Cancer on September 15, 2025.

How to cite: Roobol, Monique. “Update on PRAISE-U Project – European Union Initiative in PC Screening.” September 15, 2025. Accessed Feb 2026. https://grandroundsinurology.com/update-on-praise-u-project-european-union-initiative-in-pc-screening-2/

Update on PRAISE-U Project – European Union Initiative in PC Screening – Summary

Monique Roobol, PhD, Professor of Decision Making in Urology, Erasmus University Medical Centre, Cancer Institute, Rotterdam, Netherlands, presented the latest findings from PRAISE-U, an initiative to evaluate risk-adapted prostate cancer screening. Led by the European Association of Urology, PRAISE-U began in 2023 to test the feasibility and effectiveness of organized, risk-adapted prostate cancer screening across member states.

The project has three phases. The first established a knowledge base by assessing epidemiological data, health system capacity, and barriers to implementation across 27 EU countries. The second phase, now underway, focuses on pilot studies at 5 sites in Spain, Ireland, Poland, and Lithuania, with additional collaborations in Sweden and Estonia. Each pilot adapts the core PRAISE-U risk-stratified algorithm to local health care structures.

The algorithm uses prostate-specific antigen (PSA) as the first risk stratification step, followed by reflex testing (such as PSA density, risk calculators, or other markers) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for further assessment. Preliminary results from approximately 1,000 participants aged 50 to 69 show that about 10 to 15 percent require further risk stratification, with only 35 to 50 per 1,000 ultimately undergoing biopsy. These data suggest the approach may substantially reduce unnecessary testing and procedures while maintaining cancer detection.

Looking ahead, the third phase of PRAISE-U will evaluate outcomes with prostate cancer–specific performance indicators and integrate results with other EU screening initiatives such as EUCanScreen. Dr. Roobol emphasizes that widespread implementation will depend on tailoring strategies to national healthcare infrastructures while maintaining a common, evidence-based framework.

The Global Summit on Precision Diagnosis and Treatment of Prostate Cancer is a unique multi-disciplinary forum organized to inform the key health care stakeholders about the emerging advances in clinical case and research and create a consensus-based vision for the future of precision care and educational and research strategy for its realization. The mission of the Summit is to fill the currently existing gap between the key experts of in vivo imaging, the world authorities in the in vitro fluid- and tissue-based molecular diagnostics, including genomics, and thought leaders in the development of novel observation strategies (e.g., active surveillance, or AS) and therapeutic interventions.