T2 mapping for the characterization of prostate lesions

Abstract

PurposePurpose of this study is to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of quantitative T2/ADC values in differentiating between PCa and lesions showing non-specific inflammatory infiltrates and atrophy, features of chronic prostatitis, as the most common histologically proven differential diagnosis.MethodsIn this retrospective, single-center cohort study, we analyzed 55 patients suspected of PCa, who underwent mpMRI (3T) including quantitative T2 maps before robot-assisted mpMRI-TRUS fusion prostate biopsy. All prostate lesions were scored according to PI-RADS v2.1. Regions of interest (ROIs) were annotated in focal lesions and normal prostate tissue. Quantitative mpMRI values from T2 mapping and ADC were compared using two-tailed t tests. Receiver operating characteristic curves (ROCs) and cutoff were calculated to differentiate between PCa and chronic prostatitis.ResultsFocal lesions showed significantly lower ADC and T2 mapping values than normal prostate tissue (p < 0.001). PCa showed significantly lower ADC and T2 values than chronic prostatitis (p < 0.001). ROC analysis revealed areas under the receiver operating characteristic curves (AUCs) of 0.85 (95% CI 0.74–0.97) for quantitative ADC values and 0.84 (95% CI 0.73–0.96) for T2 mapping. A significant correlation between ADC and T2 values was observed (r = 0.70; p < 0.001).ConclusionT2 mapping showed high diagnostic accuracy for differentiating between PCa and chronic prostatitis, comparable to the performance of ADC values.