Prostate Magnetic Resonance Imaging Research Articles

Improving the understanding of PI-RADS in practice: characters of PI-RADS 4 and 5 lesions with negative biopsy.

The Prostate Imaging Reporting and Data System (PI-RADS) has good ability to identify the nature of lesions on prostate magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). However, some lesions are still reported as PI-RADS 4 and 5 but are biopsy-proven benign. Herein, we aimed to summarize the reasons for the negative prostate biopsy of patients who were assessed as PI-RADS 4 and 5 by biparameter MRI. We retrospectively sorted out the prostate MRI, treatment, and follow-up results of patients who underwent a biparameter MRI examination of the prostate in The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University (Nanjing, China) from August 2019 to June 2021 with PI-RADS 4 and 5 but a negative biopsy. We focused on reviewing the MRI characteristics. A total of 467 patients underwent transperineal prostate biopsy. Among them, biopsy pathology of 93 cases were negative. After follow-up, 90 patients were ruled out of prostate cancer. Among the 90 cases, 40 were considered to be overestimated PI-RADS after review. A total of 22 cases were transition zone (TZ) lesions with regular appearance and clear boundaries, and 3 cases were symmetrical lesions. Among 15 cases, the TZ nodules penetrated the peripheral zone (PZ) and were mistaken for the origin of PZ. A total of 17 cases of lesions were difficult to distinguish from prostate cancer. Among them, 5 cases were granulomatous inflammation (1 case of prostate tuberculosis). A total of 33 cases were ambiguous lesions, whose performance was between PI-RADS 3 and 4. In summary, the reasons for "false-positive MRI diagnosis" included PI-RADS overestimation, ambiguous images giving higher PI-RADS, diseases that were really difficult to distinguish, and missed lesion in the initial biopsy; and the first two accounted for the most.

A Case of Malacoplakia of the Prostate which was Difficult to Distinguish from Prostate Cancer

A 70-year-old-man was referred with urination pain and pyuria. Prostate specific antigen was 10.6 ng/ml, and urine culture was Escherichia coli. The abdominal ultrasonography showed irregular low echo at the right lobe of prostate. Prostate magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed an extracapsular infiltrated prostate tumor in the right lobe. Levofloxacin was administered and prostate biopsy was performed. The pathological examination revealed that the prostate tissue was filled with inflammatory cells and had lost its glandular duct structure. The patient was diagnosed with malacoplakia of the prostate. Four months after prostate biopsy, prostate MRI imaging showed disappearance of the extracapsular infiltration in right peripheral zone.

Prostate magnetic resonance imaging: Prostate imaging reporting and data system and beyond

Prostate magnetic resonance imaging: Prostate imaging reporting and data system and beyond

Assessment of Prostate Volume and Prostate-specific Antigen Density With the Segmentation Method on Magnetic Resonance Imaging.

This study aimed to compare the prostate volume (PV) and prostate-specific antigen density (PSAD) obtained using the ellipsoid volume formula or segmentation methods on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and further predict prostate cancer (PCa). Retrospectively, the enrolled patients underwent prostate MRI and had PSA levels between 4 and 10 ng/ml. The PV was measured with both the ellipsoid volume formula (PVe) and the segmentation method (PVs). The transitional zone volume (TZV) was measured with the segmentation method. The PSADe, PSADs, and PSAD_TZV were calculated. Bland-Altman plots were used to compare the agreements. ROC curve analysis was used to compare the diagnostic accuracies to predict PCa. The results were also compared between the PCa and the no-PCa groups, and among tumors with different locations and different Gleason scores (GS). Seventy-six of the 117 enrolled patients were classified into the PCa group. There were high agreements between PVs and PVe as well as between PSADs and PSADe, while several outliers were mainly due to post-transurethral resection of the prostate changes and irregular hyperplastic nodules. The diagnostic accuracy of PSADe (AUC: 0.732) was slightly higher than that of PSADs (AUC: 0.729) and PSAD_TZV (AUC: 0.715). The PSADe and PSADs were not different among different tumor locations but were higher in GS ≥7 lesions (both p=0.006). The segmentation method can be an alternative method to measure PV and calculate PSAD before prostate biopsy, particularly in post-transurethral resection of the prostate patients or those with irregular hyperplastic nodules.

False-positive magnetic resonance imaging prostate cancer correlates and clinical implications

False-positive (FP) multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging (MPMRI) obscures and swift needless biopsies in men with a high prostate-specific antigen. This was a retrospective study, in which all patients who had been exposed to consecutive MP-MRI of the prostate combined with transrectal ultrasound-guided-magnetic resonance imaging fusion-guided prostate biopsy between 2017 and 2020 were involved in the study. The FP was measured as the number of biopsies that did not encompass prostate cancer divided by the whole number of biopsies. The percentage of FP cases was 51.1%, the highest percentage was found in Prostate Imaging-Reporting and Data System (PI-RADs) 3 (37.7%) and the lowest was detected in PI-RAD 5 (14.5%). Those with FP biopsies are younger, and their total prostate antigen (PSA) and PSA density (PSAD) are significantly lesser. The area under the curve PSAD, age, and total PSA are 0.76, 0.74, and 0.69, respectively. An optimum PSAD value of 0.135 was chosen as a cutoff because it showed the highest sum of sensitivity and specificity, 68% and 69%, respectively. FP results of mpMRI were detected in more than half of our sample, more than one-third were presented in Pi-RAD3, improved imaging techniques to decrease FP rates are highly needed.

Automatic segmentation of prostate MRI based on 3D pyramid pooling Unet.

Automatic segmentation of prostate magnetic resonance (MR) images is crucial for the diagnosis, evaluation, and prognosis of prostate diseases (including prostate cancer). In recent years, the mainstream segmentation method for the prostate has been converted to convolutional neural networks. However, owing to the complexity of the tissue structure in MR images and the limitations of existing methods in spatial context modeling, the segmentation performance should be improved further. In this study, we proposed a novel 3D pyramid pool Unet that benefits from the pyramid pooling structure embedded in the skip connection (SC) and the deep supervision (DS) in the up-sampling of the 3D Unet. The parallel SC of the conventional 3D Unet network causes low-resolution information to be sent to the feature map repeatedly, resulting in blurred image features. To overcome the shortcomings of the conventional 3D Unet, we merge each decoder layer with the feature map of the same scale as the encoder and the smaller scale feature map of the pyramid pooling encoder. This SC combines the low-level details and high-level semantics at two different levels of feature maps. In addition, pyramid pooling performs multifaceted feature extraction on each image behind the convolutional layer, and DS learns hierarchical representations from comprehensive aggregated feature maps, which can improve the accuracy of the task. Experiments on 3D prostate MR images of 78 patients demonstrated that our results were highly correlated with expert manual segmentation. The average relative volume difference and Dice similarity coefficient of the prostate volume area were 2.32% and 91.03%, respectively. Quantitative experiments demonstrate that, compared with other methods, the results of our method are highly consistent with the expert manual segmentation.

SIGNIFICANCE OF ADC MEASUREMENTS AS RADIOLOGICAL MRI MARKER IN DETECTION OF METASTATIC LYMPH NODE INVOLVEMENT IN PATIENTS WITH PROSTATE CANCER.

In spite of significant advances in diagnosis of prostate cancer (PCa), thedetection and differential diagnosis of metastatic lymph node involvement remains an important clinical dilemma in a large number of cases. Contrast-enhanced abdominal computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), in part when using T1-weighed images (T1-WI and T2-WI), allow evaluating indirectly thepresence of invasion in regional lymph nodes by assessing their diameter and morphology. Nonetheless, these techniques do not appear to be sufficiently sensitive for direct identification of lymph nodes with metastatic lesions. To study thesignificance of theapparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) of diffusion-weighted MRI in detection of metastatic lymph node involvement in PCa patients. Thestudy involved 35patients with histologically verified PCa. Based on multiparametric prostatic MRI findings and pathomorphological reports, we have performed ADC measurements for pelvic lymph nodes either with (n = 15, mean size 1.78±0.59cm) or without metastases (n = 20, mean size: 0.94±0.06cm) in PCa patients who underwent radical prostatectomy with lymph node dissection. No significant diffe-rences were observed when comparing mean sizes of N+ and N- pelvic lymph nodes. At thesame time, when comparing mean ADC values for N+ and N- pelvic lymph nodes, we observed a statistically significant difference: 0.74±0.09 · 10-3mm2/s in metastatic lymph node vs 1.05±0.23 · 10-3mm2/s in lymph nodes without metastatic involvement (p<0.001). Theuse of ADC for diffusion-weighted MRI may provide valuable information for detection of metastatic lymph node involvement in patients with PCa.

Comparison of Biparametric and Multiparametric Prostate Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Predicting Oncologic Outcomes After Radical Prostatectomy.

This study aimed to evaluate the difference in predicting the pathological stage of retropubic radical prostatectomy (RRP) and biochemical recurrence (BCR) in patients with Prostate Imaging Reporting and Data System (PIRADS) scores of 3 and 4 on biparametric prostate magnetic resonance imaging (bpMRI) compared to patients who upgraded from PIRADS 3 to PIRADS 4 based on the contrast-enhanced PIRADS version 2.1. This study evaluated 107 patients who underwent RRP and had preoperative multiparametric prostate magnetic resonance imaging (mpMRI) and were followed regularly. Group 1 included 31 patients evaluated as PIRADS 3 in both bpMRI and mpMRI, group 2 included 31 patients evaluated as PIRADS 3 in bpMRI and PIRADS 4 in mpMRI, and group 3 included 45 patients evaluated as PIRADS 4 without contrast. Comparisons were made between groups 1 and 2 and between groups 2 and 3. No significant difference was found between the groups in terms of demographic data, preoperative or postoperative radiology, and pathology findings. Extraprostatic extension positivity and BCR were more common in group 2 compared to group 1 although not significant. Multivariate regression analysis was performed to determine the risk factors in predicting BCR, which revealed the positivity of seminal vesicle invasion and high pathological stage in the pathology report as significant factors. Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) and PSA density were higher in group 3 than in group 2, but without significance. This study revealed that mpMRI did not contribute in predicting BCR after RRP compared to bpMRI.

Role of the Prostate Imaging Quality PI-QUAL Score for Prostate Magnetic Resonance Image Quality in Pathological Upstaging After Radical Prostatectomy: A Multicentre European Study

BackgroundIncreasing use of multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging (mpMRI) has come with heterogeneity in image quality. The Prostate Imaging Quality (PI-QUAL) score is under scrutiny to assess its usefulness in predicting clinical outcomes. ObjectiveTo compare upstaging of localized disease on mpMRI (mrT2) to locally invasive disease in radical prostatectomy (RP) specimens (≥pT3a) in relation to PI-QUAL. Design, setting, and participantsPatients treated with RP between 2015 and 2020 who underwent 1.5–3-T mpMRI within 6 mo before surgery and had systematic and mpMRI-US targeted biopsies were included. mpMRI scans were retrospectively assigned a PI-QUAL score, and prospectively acquired Prostate Imaging-Recording and Data System (PI-RADS) scores (version 2.0 or 2.1) were used. PI-QUAL scores were categorized as nondiagnostic (PI-QUAL <3), sufficient (PI-QUAL 3), or optimal (PI-QUAL >3). Outcome measurements and statistical analysisWe assessed the relationship between the PI-QUAL score and upstaging using multivariate logistic regression. mpMRI, clinical, and pathological findings were compared using χ2 tests and analysis of variance. Results and limitationsWe identified 351 patients, of whom 40 (11.4%) had PI-QUAL <3, 57 (16.3%) had PI-QUAL 3, and 254 (72.3%) had PI-QUAL >3 scores. The distribution of PI-QUAL <3 (0–33.6%; p < 0.001) and PI-QUAL >3 (37.3–100%; p < 0.001) scores varied widely among centers. PI-QUAL ≥3 in comparison to PI-QUAL <3 was associated with a lower rate of upstaging (19% vs 35%; p = 0.02), greater detection of mrT3a and mrT3b prostate cancer (17.0% vs 2.5%; p = 0.016), a higher rate of PI-RADS 5 lesions (47% vs 27.5%; p = 0.002), a higher number of suspicious lesion (PI-RADS ≥3: 34.7% vs 15%; p = 0.012), and higher detection rates for aggregated (50.7% vs 22.5%; p = 0.001) and late (21.2% vs 0%; p < 0.001) extraprostatic extension. On multivariate analysis, PI-QUAL<3 was associated with more frequent upstaging in the RP specimen (odds ratio 3.4; p = 0.01). ConclusionsIn comparison to PI-QUAL ≥3, PI-QUAL <3 was significantly associated with a higher rate of upstaging from organ-confined disease on mpMRI to locally advanced disease on pathology, lower detection rates for PI-RADS 5 lesions and extraprostatic extension, and a lower number of suspicious lesions. Patient summaryPoor image quality for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans of the prostate is associated with underestimation of the stage of prostate cancer.

Automated Patient-level Prostate Cancer Detection with Quantitative Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging

BackgroundMultiparametric magnetic resonance imaging (mpMRI) improves detection of clinically significant prostate cancer (csPCa), but the subjective Prostate Imaging Reporting and Data System (PI-RADS) system and quantitative apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) are inconsistent. Restriction spectrum imaging (RSI) is an advanced diffusion-weighted MRI technique that yields a quantitative imaging biomarker for csPCa called the RSI restriction score (RSIrs). ObjectiveTo evaluate RSIrs for automated patient-level detection of csPCa. Design, setting, and participantsWe retrospectively studied all patients (n = 151) who underwent 3 T mpMRI and RSI (a 2-min sequence on a clinical scanner) for suspected prostate cancer at University of California San Diego during 2017–2019 and had prostate biopsy within 180 d of MRI. InterventionWe calculated the maximum RSIrs and minimum ADC within the prostate, and obtained PI-RADS v2.1 from medical records. Outcome measurements and statistical analysisWe compared the performance of RSIrs, ADC, and PI-RADS for the detection of csPCa (grade group ≥2) on the best available histopathology (biopsy or prostatectomy) using the area under the curve (AUC) with two-tailed α = 0.05. We also explored whether the combination of PI-RADS and RSIrs might be superior to PI-RADS alone and performed subset analyses within the peripheral and transition zones. Results and limitationsAUC values for ADC, RSIrs, and PI-RADS were 0.48 (95% confidence interval: 0.39, 0.58), 0.78 (0.70, 0.85), and 0.77 (0.70, 0.84), respectively. RSIrs and PI-RADS were each superior to ADC for patient-level detection of csPCa (p < 0.0001). RSIrs alone was comparable with PI-RADS (p = 0.8). The combination of PI-RADS and RSIrs had an AUC of 0.85 (0.78, 0.91) and was superior to either PI-RADS or RSIrs alone (p < 0.05). Similar patterns were seen in the peripheral and transition zones. ConclusionsRSIrs is a promising quantitative marker for patient-level csPCa detection, warranting a prospective study. Patient summaryWe evaluated a rapid, advanced prostate magnetic resonance imaging technique called restriction spectrum imaging to see whether it could give an automated score that predicted the presence of clinically significant prostate cancer. The automated score worked about as well as expert radiologists’ interpretation. The combination of the radiologists’ scores and automated score might be better than either alone.

A standardized method to measure the membranous urethral length (MUL) on MRI of the prostate with high inter- and intra-observer agreement.

The membranous urethral length (MUL), defined as the length between the apex and penile base as measured on preoperative prostate magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), is an important predictor for urinary incontinence after radical prostatectomy. Literature on inter- and intra - observer agreement of MUL measurement is limited. We studied the inter- and intra-observer agreement between radiologists using a well-defined method to measure the MUL on the prostate MRI. Prostate cancer patients underwent a preoperative MRI and robot-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP) at one high-volume RARP center. MUL measurement was based on well-defined landmarks on sagittal T2-weighted (anatomical) images. Three radiologists independently performed MUL measurements retrospectively in 106 patients blinded to themselves, to each other, and to clinical outcomes. The inter- and intra-observer agreement of MUL measurement between the radiologists were calculated, expressed as intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC). The initial inter-observer agreement was ICC 0.63; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.28-0.81. Radiologist 3 measured the MUL mean 3.9 mm (SD 3.3) longer than the other readers, interpreting the caudal point of the MUL (penile base) differently. After discussion on the correct anatomical definition, radiologist 3 re-assessed all scans, which resulted in a high inter-observer agreement (ICC 0.84; 95% CI 0.66-0.91). After a subsequent reading by radiologists 1 and 2, the intra-observer agreements were ICC 0.93; 95% CI 0.89-0.96, and ICC 0.98; 95% CI 0.97-0.98, respectively. Limitation is the monocenter design. The MUL can be measured reliably with high agreement among radiologists. • After discussion on the correct anatomical definition, the inter- and intra - observer agreements of membranous urethral length (MUL) measurement on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were high. • A reproducible method to measure the MUL can improve the clinical usefulness of prediction models for urinary continence after RARP which may benefit patient counselling.

T1 Mapping of the Prostate Using Single-Shot T1FLASH: A Clinical Feasibility Study to Optimize Prostate Cancer Assessment.

The aim of this study was to assess the clinical feasibility of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) T1 mapping using T1FLASH for assessment of prostate lesions. Participants with clinical suspicion for prostate cancer (PCa) were prospectively enrolled between October 2021 and April 2022 with multiparametric prostate MRI (mpMRI) acquired on a 3 T scanner. In addition, T1 mapping was accomplished using a single-shot T1FLASH technique with inversion recovery, radial undersampling, and iterative reconstruction. Regions of interest (ROIs) were manually placed on radiologically identified prostate lesions and representative reference regions of the transitional zone (TZ), benign prostate hyperplasia nodules, and peripheral zone (PZ). Mean T1 relaxation times and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values (b = 50/b = 1400 s/mm 2 ) were measured for each ROI. Participants were included in the study if they underwent ultrasound/MRI fusion-guided prostate biopsy for radiologically or clinically suspected PCa. Histological evaluation of biopsy cores served as reference standard, with grading of PCa according to the International Society of Urological Pathology (ISUP). ISUP grades 2 and above were considered clinically significant PCa for the scope of this study. Histological results of prostate biopsy cores were anatomically mapped to corresponding mpMRI ROIs using biopsy plans. T1 relaxation times and ADC values were compared across prostate regions and ISUP groups. Across different strata, T1 relaxation time, ADC values, and diagnostic accuracy (area under the curve [AUC]) were compared using statistical methods accounting for clustered data. Of 67 eligible participants, a total of 40 participants undergoing ultrasound/MRI fusion-guided prostate biopsy were included. Multislice T1 mapping was successfully performed in all participants at a median acquisition time of 2:10 minutes without evident image artifacts. A total of 71 prostate lesions was radiologically identified (TZ 49; PZ 22). Among those, 22 were histologically diagnosed with PCa (ISUP groups 1/2/3/4 in n = 3/15/3/1 cases, respectively). In the TZ, T1 relaxation time was statistically significantly lower for PCa compared with reference regions ( P = 0.029) and benign prostate hyperplasia nodules ( P < 0.001). Similarly, in the PZ, PCa demonstrated shorter T1 relaxation times versus reference regions ( P < 0.001). PCa also showed a trend toward shorter T1 relaxation times (median, 1.40 seconds) compared with radiologically suspicious lesions with benign histology (median, 1.47 seconds), although statistical significance was not reached ( P = 0.066). For discrimination of PCa from reference regions and benign prostate lesions, T1 relaxation times and ADC values demonstrated AUC = 0.80 and AUC = 0.83, respectively ( P = 0.519). Discriminating PCa from radiologically suspicious lesions with benign histology, T1 relaxation times and ADC values showed AUC = 0.69 and AUC = 0.62, respectively ( P = 0.446). T1FLASH-based T1 mapping yields robust results for quantification of prostate T1 relaxation time at a short examination time of 2:10 minutes without evident image artifacts. Associated T1 relaxation times could aid in discrimination of significant and nonsignificant PCa. Further studies are warranted to confirm these results in a larger patient cohort, to assess the additional benefit of T1FLASH maps in conjunction with mpMRI sequences in the setting of deep learning, and to evaluate the robustness of T1FLASH maps compared with potentially artifact-prone diffusion-weighted imaging sequences.

Opinions and perceptions of Egyptian Urologists regarding Multiparametric Magnetic Resonance imaging of prostate

Opinions and perceptions of Egyptian Urologists regarding Multiparametric Magnetic Resonance imaging of prostate

Temporal changes of PIRADS scoring by radiologists and correlation to radical prostatectomy pathological outcomes.

To assess temporal improvement of prostate image reporting and data system (PIRADS) 3-5 lesion correlation to histopathologic findings from radical prostatectomy (RP) in prostate cancer (PCa). A total of 1481 patients who underwent RP for biopsy-proven PCa between 2015 and 2019 were divided into 14 groups of 100 sequential readings for the evaluation of histopathological correlation with PIRADS readings. Temporal trends of PIRADS distribution and predictive performance for RP pathology were evaluated to assess underlying changes in prostate magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) interpretation by radiologists. PIRADS 4-5 lesions were significantly correlated with the increasing rates of Gleason Group (GG) upgrade (p=0.044) and decreasing rate of GG downgrade (p=0.016) over time. PIRADS ≥3 lesions read after median 2years of experience were shown to independently predict intermediate-high-risk (GG≥3) PCa (odds ratio 2.93, 95% confidence interval 1.00-8.54; P=0.049) in RP pathology. Preoperative GG≥3 biopsy lesions with PIRADS 4-5 lesions were significantly more susceptible to GG upgrade (P=0.035) and GG≥4 RP pathology (p=0.003) in experienced reads, in contrast to insignificant findings in early readings (p=0.588 and 0.248, respectively). Preoperative MRI reports matched with RP pathology suggest an improved prediction of adverse pathology in PIRADS 3-5 lesions over time, suggesting a temporal change in PIRADS interpretation and predictive accuracy. Institutions with low volume experience should use caution in solely relying on MRI for predicting tumor characteristics. Future prospective trials and larger scale assessments are required to further validate our results.

Prostate imaging features on magnetic resonance imaging of young patients.

To identify magnetic resonance imaging findings of the prostate in young adults, including symptomatic and asymptomatic patients. The aim of this study is to evaluate the main aspects of prostate imaging in young patients. A total of 102 patients under 40 years of age, who underwent prostate magnetic resonance imaging between January 2016 and January 2019, were included in this study. The patients were divided into two groups: symptomatic for prostatitis (Group 1) and asymptomatic (Group 2). Magnetic resonance imaging scans were anonymized and interpreted by a radiologist blinded for clinical information. The study evaluated peripheral zone signal in T2-weighted sequences, diffusion and apparent diffusion coefficient map; peripheral zone enhancement pattern; seminal vesicles and periprostatic fat. All evaluated criteria did not present statistically significant differences between the two groups. The most common pattern was heterogeneous hyposignal on T2 (57.9% in Group 1 and 57.8% in Group 2; p=0.506), mild diffuse / wedge-shaped areas of hypointensity on apparent diffusion coefficient map (61.4% in Group 1 and 64.4% in Group 2; p=0.931) and early post-contrast enhancement (73.7% in Group 1 and 68.9% in Group 2, p=0719). The magnetic resonance imaging aspect of young patients showed no differences between symptomatic and asymptomatic patients.

Increased magnetic resonance imaging in prostate cancer management-What are the outcomes?

Increased attention to cancer care has instigated altered systems for screening, diagnosis, and management of various types of cancer, such as in the prostate. While such systems very likely have improved the quality of cancer care, they also result in the altered use of specific services, such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). To study the change in the use of prostate MRI in the Norwegian health care system from 2013 to 2021 and to investigate some reasons for and potential implications of this change. Data from the Norwegian Health Economics Administration (HELFO), The Cancer Registry of Norwayand Cause-of-death registry at the Norwegian Institute of public healthand the health registry of Vestfold Hospital Trust were used for descriptive statistical analysis. The number of MRIs of the prostate increased threefold from 2013 to 2021, representing an extra cost of 2 million USD in 2020. The incidence of prostate cancer was stable at about 5000 cases per year, corresponding to 178 per 100,000 men, indicating no increased overdiagnosis. However, the clinical staging has changed substantially during this period, indicating stage and grade migration. The number of negative biopsies was reduced, and there are three MRIs per reduced negative biopsy. The number of persons on active surveillance increased during the period. However, these changes are partly independent of the increase in the number of MRIs. There was a substantial increase in the number of prostate MRIs and thus an increase in costs. This appears to have contributed to the reduction of negative biopsies, improved stagingand increased active surveillance. However, as these effects are partly independent of the increase in MRIs, we need to document the outcomes for patients from prostate MRIs as their opportunity costs are substantial.

Impact of the bladder detrusor muscular ring on lower urinary tract symptoms due to benign prostatic hyperplasia: A quantitative MRI analysis.

The etiology of lower urinary tract symptoms secondary to benign prostatic hyperplasia (LUTS/BPH) remains uncertain. The purpose of our study was to quantitatively analyze anatomic characteristics on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to assess novel independent factors for symptoms. This retrospective single-institution study evaluated treatment-naïve men who underwent prostate MRI within 3 months of international prostate symptom score (IPSS) scoring from June 2021 to February 2022. Factors measured on MRI included: size of the detrusor muscular ring (DMR) surrounding the bladder outlet, central gland (CG) mean apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC), levator hiatus (LH) volume, intrapelvic volume, intravesicular prostate protrusion (IPP) volume, CG volume, peripheral zone (PZ) volume, prostate urethra angle (PUA), and PZ background ordinal score. Multivariable logistic regression and receiver operating characteristic analysis were used to analyze factors for moderate/severe (IPSS ≥ 8) and severe LUTS/BPH (IPSS ≥ 20). A total of 303 men (mean age: 66.1 [SD: 8.1]) were included: 154 demonstrated moderate or severe symptoms with 28 severe and 149 with asymptomatic/mild symptoms. Increasing age [p = 0.02; odds ratio (OR): 1.05 (1.01-1.08)], PUA [p = 0.02; OR: 1.05 (1.01-1.09)], LHvolume [p = 0.04; OR: 1.02 (1.00-1.05)], and DMR size measured as diameter [p < 0.001; OR: 5.0 (3.01-8.38)] or area [p < 0.001; OR: 1.92 (1.47-2.49)] were significantly independently associated with moderate/severe symptoms, with BMI [p = 0.02; OR: 0.93 (0.88-0.99)] inversely related. For every one cm increase in DMR diameter, patients had approximately five times the odds for moderate/severe symptoms. Increasing DMR size [diameter p < 0.001; OR: 2.74 (1.76-4.27) or area p < 0.001; OR: 1.37 (1.18-1.58)] was independently associated with severe symptoms. Optimal criterion cutoff of DMR diameter for moderate/severe symptoms was 1.2 cm [sensitivity: 77.3; specificity: 71.8; AUC: 0.80 (0.75-0.84)]. Inter-reader reliability was excellent for DMR diameter [ICC = 0.92 (0.90-0.94)]. Expansion of the DMR surrounding the bladder outlet is a novel anatomic factor independently associated with moderate and severe LUTS/BPH, taking into account prostate volumes, including quantified IPP volume, which were unrelated. Detrusor ring diameter, easily and reliably measured on routine prostate MRI, may relate to detrusor dysfunction from chronic stretching of this histologically distinct smooth muscle around the bladder neck.

Patients With "Gray Zone" PSA Levels: Application of Prostate MRI and MRS in the Diagnosis of Prostate Cancer.

Improving the detection rates of prostate cancer (PCa) and avoiding unnecessary prostate biopsies in men with prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels within the gray zone require urgent attention. In this context, rapid advances in MR technology in recent years may offer a promising possibility. A systematic review to evaluate the applications of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) in detecting PCa and clinically significant PCa (csPCa) in men with PSA levels within the gray zone. The study type is defined as systematic review. In July 2022, out of 229 studies identified by the database search and from other sources, 23 articles related to the selected topic of interest were included in this review. No field strength or sequence restrictions. The data including the study population, study characteristics, as well as basic MRI characteristics, from the final studies included in this review, were extracted independently by two reviewers. The major results of the original study were summarized and no additional statistical analysis was performed. Among the 23 studies included in this review, 17 focused on the applications of MRS and MRI for the prebiopsy diagnosis of PCa. Nine of these 17 articles used Prostate Imaging Reporting and Data System (PI-RADS) score to interpret MRI results, thereby confirming the practicality of the PI-RADS score in predicting PCa and csPCa. The remaining six articles evaluated the applications of MRI and MRS in guiding prostate biopsy. Although there was a variation in the biopsy modalities used in these studies, both MRI- and MRS-guided prostate biopsies were observed to improve the detection rates of PCa and csPCa in patients with PSA levels within the gray zone. MRS and MRI showed good performance in the detection of PCa and csPCa before biopsy. In addition, MRS- or MRI-guided prostate-targeted biopsies were able to improve the detection rates of PCa and csPCa. EVIDENCE LEVEL: 3 TECHNICAL EFFICACY: Stage 2.

A combined deformable model and medical transformer algorithm for medical image segmentation

Deep learning–based segmentation models usually require substantial data, and the model usually suffers from poor generalization due to the lack of training data and inefficient network structure. We proposed to combine the deformable model and medical transformer neural network on the image segmentation task to alleviate the aforementioned problems. The proposed method first employs a statistical shape model to generate simulated contours of the target object, and then the thin plate spline is applied to create a realistic texture. Finally, a medical transformer network was constructed to segment three types of medical images, including prostate MR image, heart US image, and tongue color images. The segmentation accuracy of the three tasks achieved 89.97%, 91.90%, and 94.25%, respectively. The experimental results show that the proposed method improves medical image segmentation performance.Graphical abstract

One-stop prostate MRI biopsy service improving the turnaround times from MRI referral to biopsy

Background: Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men in the UK, with steady increase in the number of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) referrals and biopsies. In the traditional pathway, there can be substantial delay from referral to biopsy. In our hospital, the interval between MRI and biopsy is between three to eight weeks. This affects the 31/62-day targets of cancer diagnosis and treatment. We introduced a one-stop clinic, the first in Scotland, to reduce the turnaround times.