Use of MRI and spectroscopy in evaluation of external beam radiotherapy for prostate cancer.

Purpose: To characterize the metabolic response in the prostate, the time to resolution of disease, and the correlation between magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with spectroscopy (MRSI) results, biopsy findings, and serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level after external beam radiotherapy.

Methods And Materials: A total of 55 patients underwent MRSI before and/or at varying times after external beam radiotherapy. The percentage of the cancerous, healthy, and atrophic voxels was calculated, and the time to resolution of disease was determined and compared with the PSA nadir.

Time to metabolic atrophy after permanent prostate seed implantation based on magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging.

Purpose: To characterize the time to metabolic atrophy (TMA) after permanent prostate implantation (PPI) using combined MRI and magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging (MRSI) compared with the time to prostate-specific antigen (PSA) nadir.

Methods And Materials: This study was based on a posttreatment analysis comparing the MRI/MRSI findings with the PSA levels of 65 patients treated with PPI alone or combined with external beam radiotherapy and/or HT. The fraction of interpretable voxels demonstrating metabolic atrophy was used to compare the TMA with the time to PSA nadir.