Korean J Urol.  2001 May;42(5):500-505.

The Usefulness of Endo-rectal Coil MRI in the Staging of Clinically Localized Prostate Cancer

• Kim ET
• Jeon SS
• Chai SE
• Kim BH
• Choi HY

Abstract

PURPOSE: We evaluated the ability of endo-rectal coil MRI (ER-MRI) to predict the local pathological stage of prostate cancer prior to radical prostatectomy and compared the results with those of transrectal ultrasonography (TRUS).
MATERIALS AND METHODS
ER-MRI using high field magnets (1.5 Tesla) were performed in 22 patients (mean age 62.8 years, range 51-73) with clinically localized prostate cancer before radical prostatectomy. Of the 22 patients, 17 patients were also assessed by TRUS. The results of the imaging techniques were compared with the post-operative histopathological findings. As one patient with pelvic lymph node metastasis, which was detected on frozen-section examination during surgery, was spared radical prostatectomy, the final evaluation included 21 patients.
RESULTS
DSeven of the 21 patients (33%) were found to have extraprostatic extension (EPE), and 5 had seminal vesicle invasion (SVI). The sensitivity and specificity for diagnosing EPE using ER-MRI were 62.5% and 84.6%, respectively, and 16.7% and 100% with TRUS. The sensitivity and specificity for diagnosing SVI were 80.0% and 93.8%, respectively with ER-MRI, and 0% and 92.3% with TRUS. The accuracy of predicting SVI was 90.5% with ER-MRI compared to 70.6% with TRUS.
CONCLUSIONS
ER-MRI was significantly better than TRUS for determining the local extent of prostatic cancer and for prediction of SVI in the preoperative staging of clinically localized prostate cancer.

Keyword

Prostate cancer; Endo-rectal coil MRI; Extraprostatic extension; Seminal vesicle invasion

MeSH Terms

Humans
Lymph Nodes
Magnetic Resonance Imaging*
Neoplasm Metastasis
Prostate*
Prostatectomy
Prostatic Neoplasms*
Seminal Vesicles
Sensitivity and Specificity
Ultrasonography