Prostate Cancer: Relationships between Postbiopsy Hemorrhage and Tumor Detectability at MR Diagnosis

Abstract

To retrospectively evaluate the influence of postbiopsy hemorrhage on the accuracy of tumor detection at T2-weighted magnetic resonance (MR) imaging, dynamic contrast material-enhanced MR imaging, and diffusion-weighted (DW) MR imaging of prostate cancer, with histologic findings as the reference standard. The institutional review board approved this study and waived the requirement for informed consent. Forty male patients aged 62-84 years (mean age, 71 years) who had prostate cancer underwent MR imaging of the prostate gland after ultrasonographically (US) guided systematic 12-core-specimen biopsy. The mean time between biopsy and MR imaging was 24 days (range, 6-54 days). T1-weighted, T2-weighted, dynamic contrast-enhanced, and DW imaging examinations were performed at 1.5 T. The prostate was divided, according to the biopsy sites, into eight regions on the MR images. Three reviewers in consensus evaluated each region for hemorrhage and prostate cancer. Statistical evaluations were performed with Mann-Whitney U, Ryan, and Spearman rank correlation tests. Intraglandular hemorrhage was observed in 38 (95%) patients and significantly more often in the peripheral zone (PZ) than in the transition zone (TZ) (P < .001). Degree of hemorrhage did not correlate significantly (P = .536) with time between biopsy and MR imaging. The sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of combined T2-weighted, dynamic contrast-enhanced, and DW imaging in the diagnosis of prostate cancer were 69%, 85%, and 78%, respectively. Sensitivity and specificity were lower for the TZ than for the PZ. Degree of hemorrhage was significantly lower in regions of positive biopsy findings than in regions of negative biopsy findings (P = .001) and correlated negatively with tumor size (P = .043). Interpretation of combined T2-weighted, dynamic contrast-enhanced, and DW MR image findings can yield reasonable diagnostic accuracy in both the PZ (80% [191 of 240 regions]) and the TZ (74% [59 of 80 regions]).