Prostate cancer detection with 3 T MRI: comparison of diffusion-weighted imaging and dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI in combination with T2-weighted imaging.

Purpose: To evaluate the diagnostic ability of diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) and dynamic contrast-enhanced imaging (DCEI) in combination with T2-weighted imaging (T2WI) for the detection of prostate cancer using 3 T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with a phased-array body coil.

Materials And Methods: Fifty-three patients with elevated serum levels of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) were evaluated by T2WI, DWI, and DCEI prior to needle biopsy. The obtained data from T2WI alone (protocol A), a combination of T2WI and DWI (protocol B), a combination T2WI and DCEI (protocol C), and a combination of T2WI plus DWI and DCEI (protocol D) were subjected to receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis.

Results: The sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, and area under the ROC curve (Az) for region-based analysis were: 61%, 91%, 84%, and 0.8415, respectively, in protocol A; 76%, 94%, 90%, and 0.8931, respectively, in protocol B; 77%, 93%, 89%, and 0.8655, respectively, in protocol C; and 81%, 96%, 92%, and 0.8968, respectively in protocol D. ROC analysis revealed significant differences between protocols A and B (P = 0.0008) and between protocols A and D (P = 0.0004).

Conclusion: In patients with elevated PSA levels the combination of T2WI, DWI, DCEI using 3 T MRI may be a reasonable approach for the detection of prostate cancer.