multiparametric mri of the prostate

The world of prostate cancer detection and diagnosis has been revolutionized by special imaging called Multiparametric Magnetic Resonance Imaging (mpMRI). Unlike conventional MRI, mpMRI uses two or more different imaging sequences or parameters to gain detailed information about normal and abnormal conditions in and around the prostate gland. The more powerful the magnet, the clearer the scans. For best results, mpMRI should be done with a 3 Tesla (3T) magnet.

Prostate cancer, the most common organ cancer in men, rarely has early symptoms. The most common way to screen for prostate cancer, the PSA blood test, registers changes in the prostate gland that may not be cancer. For example, gland enlargement – a normal part of getting older – can cause an elevated PSA. So can prostate inflammation, infection, and cancer. To be on the safe side, a doctor may recommend an invasive needle biopsy as a way to rule prostate cancer in or out. Now there is a noninvasive way to find out if a biopsy is necessary: mpMRI done with a 3T magnet, or 3T mpMRI.

What 3T mpMRI shows
Research confirms that 3T mpMRI offers patients and their doctors the information they need to

• Rule a prostate needle biopsy in or out
• Reveal the location, size and shape of areas suspicious for cancer
• Characterize the aggression level of suspicious areas
• Qualify patients for Active Surveillance
• Assist with treatment decision-making and planning by showing if tumors are confined to the gland or have begun to grow beyond the gland margin

3T mpMRI guidance for interventions
3T mpMRI does more identify problems. Clinical research demonstrates that it is the imaging of choice for

• MRI-guided targeted biopsy in which minimal biopsy needles are placed into areas most likely to hold dangerous prostate cancer cells. Reducing the number of needles is kinder on the patient, has much less risk of infection, and offers the most accurate results.
• MRI-guided focal laser ablation which is a minimally invasive way to destroy the prostate cancer tumor with few to no side effects
• Immediate confirmation of treatment success
• Monitoring active surveillance, since any abnormal change can be diagnosed by an MRI-guided targeted biopsy

The Sperling Prostate Center is a technologically-advanced, patient-oriented practice dedicated to providing the most effective techniques in prostate cancer diagnosis and treatment. Unlike conventional prostate treatments, our approach—utilizing 3T Multi-Parametric MRI prostate imaging and laser tumor ablation—offers diagnostic superiority and quality of life preservation previously unattainable.