Clinical Professor Michael Brunner, MD, FACR, FSIR has joined the newly-funded VA Cooperative “PREMIUM” study as a principal investigator. PREMIUM (PREventing liver cancer Mortality through Imaging with Ultrasound vs. MRI) is a multi-institutional study administered by the VA Cooperative Study Program that looks at limited liver MRI versus liver ultrasound to screen for hepatocellular carcinoma in Veterans with chronic liver disease. He will join UW Gastroenterology and Hepatology Professor Adnan Said, MD, MS as the principal investigators for the Madison VA.
This study will take place at 47 VA Medical Centers around the country over multiple years. The participants are patients with Cirrhosis who are at high risk for hepatocellular carcinoma. They will be randomized into one of two groups. Every six months, the groups will receive their designated surveillance screening option. One group will receive ultrasound and serum alpha fetoprotein (the current standard of care) and the other group will receive abbreviated MRI and serum alpha fetoprotein. The goal is to test the effectiveness of the two interventions at screening for hepatocellular carcinoma.
Dr. Brunner is looking forward to this opportunity. “It is exciting to be a part of PREMIUM. It is very competitive to become part of a VA Cooperative study, and I am honored to be selected,” he says.