Prostate MRI

MRI of the Prostate gland

Technique

Multiparametric, 3 Tesla, prostate MRI (mpMRI) consists of a precise combination of imaging sequences used to screen for prostate cancer. Findings on each imaging sequence are scored, enabling determination of an overall PI-RADS category, utilized to determine the likelihood of the presence of clinically significant prostate cancer.

Imaging sequences include:
T2-weighted images
Diffusion weighted imaging (DWI)
Dynamic contrast-enhanced imaging (DCE)

Based on the number of points obtained in each category, a PI-RADS Score is determined..

More about Prostate MRI...

State-of-the-art prostate MRI is multiparametric (mpMRI), meaning that anatomic as well as functional characteristics of lesions are considered and result in a lesion

score indicative of the likelihood of prostate cancer. A 5-point scale is utilized, to relay the probability of malignant disease:

PI-RADS TM V2.1 Assessment Categories

PI-RADS 1 - Very low (clinically significant cancer is highly unlikely to be present)

PI-RADS 2 - Low (clinically significant cancer is unlikely to be present)

PI-RADS 3 - Intermediate (the presence of clinically significant cancer is equivocal)

PI-RADS 4 - High (clinically significant cancer is likely to be present)

PI-RADS 5 - Very high (clinically significant cancer is highly likely to be present)

What is clinically significant prostate cancer?

Clinically significant cancer is defined as histologically proven Gleason score of greater than or equal to 7 (including 3 + 4, with prominent but not predominant Gleason 4 component), and/or volume greater than or equal to 0.5cc, and/or extraprostatic extension .