Detection of locally recurrent prostate cancer after cryosurgery: evaluation by transrectal ultrasound, magnetic resonance imaging, and three-dimensional proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy.

OBJECTIVES: To assess and compare the clinical usefulness of transrectal ultrasound (TRUS), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and three-dimensional proton magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging (3-D MRSI) in detecting local recurrence of carcinoma of the prostate (CaP) in patients with detectable prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels after cryosurgery.
METHODS: In a prospective study, 25 patients who had undergone cryosurgery as primary treatment for CaP underwent endorectal MRI and 3-D MRSI, followed by TRUS-guided prostate biopsy. At the time of study, 20 patients had detectable PSA; the remaining 5 patients served as controls. All patients had random sextant and guided prostate biopsy for correlation with imaging and MR spectroscopic findings.
RESULTS: In patients with detectable PSA, MRSI identified, location-for-location, all foci of CaP and benign prostatic tissue that were detected by prostate biopsy. MRSI identified more sites with CaP than did prostate biopsy, indicating a larger volume of cancer. In 2 patients with detectable PSA and negative prostate biopsy, MRSI identified 11 voxels with viable prostatic tissue. In patients with undetectable PSA, both MRSI and prostate biopsy showed necrosis. Ultrasound and MRI were very poor tools for identifying recurrent cancer and differentiating between viable and necrotic prostate tissue.
CONCLUSIONS: 3-D MRSI is superior to TRUS and MRI in differentiating among CaP, BPH, and necrosis when local recurrence after cryosurgery is suspected. By providing chemical mapping of the prostate in contiguous voxels, the addition of spectroscopy to endorectal MRI increases the sensitivity for detection of local recurrence.