Objective: Our aim was to determine the effect of prior transrectal biopsy on endorectal MRI and MR spectroscopic imaging findings in patients with organ-confined prostate cancer.
Materials and methods: Endorectal MRI and MR spectroscopic imaging were performed in 43 patients with biopsy-proven prostate cancer before radical prostatectomy confirming organ-confined disease. For each sextant, two independent reviewers scored the degree of hemorrhage on a scale from 1 to 5 and recorded the presence or absence of capsular irregularity. A spectroscopist recorded the number of spectrally degraded voxels in the peripheral zone. The outcome variables of capsular irregularity and spectral degradation were correlated with the predictor variables of time from biopsy and degree of hemorrhage after biopsy.
Results: Capsular irregularity was unrelated to time from biopsy or to degree of hemorrhage. Spectral degradation was inversely related to time from biopsy (p < 0.01); the mean percentage of degraded peripheral zone voxels was 18.5% within 8 weeks of biopsy compared with 7% after 8 weeks. Spectral degradation was unrelated to the degree of hemorrhage.
Conclusion: In organ-confined prostate cancer, capsular irregularity can be seen at any time after biopsy and is independent of the degree of hemorrhage, whereas spectral degradation is seen predominantly in the first 8 weeks after biopsy. MRI staging criteria and guidelines for scheduling studies after biopsy may require appropriate modification.