Multiparametric Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the Prostate for Tumour Detection and Local Staging: Imaging in 1.5T and Histopathologic Correlation

Purpose The study sought to prospectively evaluate which technique among T2-weighted images, dynamic contrast-enhanced (DCE) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), diffusion-weighted (DW) MRI, or a combination of the 2, is best suited for prostate cancer detection and local staging. Methods Twenty-seven consecutive patients with biopsy-proven adenocarcinoma of the prostate underwent MRI on a 1.5T scanner with a surface phased-array coil prior radical prostatectomy. Combined anatomical and functional imaging was performed with the use of T2-weighted sequences, DCE MRI, and DW MRI. We compared the imaging results with whole mount histopathology. Results For the multiparametric approach, significantly higher sensitivity values, that is, 53% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 41.0-64.1) were obtained as compared with each modality alone or any combination of the 3 modalities ( P < .05). The specificity for this multiparametric approach, being 90.3% (95% CI: 86.3-93.3) was not significantly higher ( P < .05) as compared with the values of the combination of T2+DCE MRI, DW+DCE MRI, or DCE MRI alone. Among the 3 techniques, DCE had the best performance for tumour detection in both the peripheral and the transition zone. High negative predictive value rates (>86%) were obtained for both tumour detection and local staging. Conclusions The combination of T2-weighted sequences, DCE MRI, and DW MRI yields higher diagnostic performance for tumour detection and local staging than can any of these techniques alone or even any combination of them.