Multiparametric MR imaging for the assessment of prostate cancer aggressiveness at 3 Tesla

Introduction: Accurate assessment of aggressiveness of localized prostate cancer (PCa) is essential, because not all PCa is life-threatening and overtreatment of indolent disease should be prevented. The different functional magnetic resonance (MR) techniques, diffusion weighted imaging (DWI) [1,2], MR spectroscopic imaging (MRSI) [3] and dynamic contrast-enhanced (DCE)-MRI [4], show potential for assessment of PCa aggressiveness. For example, this information can be used to guide targeted biopsy or focal therapy. Adding DWI to T2-weighted imaging (T2WI) is straightforward and relatively easy to acquire and interpret. On the other hand, DCE-MRI and MRSI require expertise, dedicated software programs and extensive post-processing for successful application. The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether a full multiparametric MRI (mpMRI) is useful for discriminating between significant and indolent PCa.