MRI Spectroscopy in Screening of Prostate Cancer

Background: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the suitability of MR Spectroscopy in screening for prostate cancer in comparison to T2-weighted MR imaging.

Materials And Methods: Forty-six patients with biopsy confirmed prostate cancer underwent combined endorectal-body-phased-array MRI at 1.5T (Tesla). Twelve patients were additionally examined with 3D-spectroscopy sequence. The results of the spectroscopy were compared with the findings of T2-weighted MR imaging and the histological examination of radical prostatectomy specimens.

Results: With 3D-spectroscopy, a choline+creatine/citrate-ratio of 0.45 for healthy tissue and a ratio of 1.90 for tumor tissue were found and a significant difference between the groups was demonstrated. In 6 cases diagnosis of tumor localization was improved with spectroscopy in comparison with T2-weighted imaging alone.

Conclusion: 3D-spectroscopy is a suitable technique for improving MR imaging of prostate cancer. This method can improve the diagnostic accuracy of T2-weighted imaging alone. At present, 3D-CSI spectroscopy alone can not be recommended with sufficient validity.