EFFECT OF TRANS URETHRAL MICROWAVE THERMOTHERAPY - AN EVALUATION WITHMR-IMAGING

Purpose: To detect morphological changes in the prostate, as depicted with MR imaging, in order to clarify the effects of transurethral micr owave thermotherapy (TUMT). Material and Methods: Twenty patients with prostatism and a prostatic volume of 30-71 cm(3) underwent MR examina tion before, the day after, and 6 months after treatment. TUMT was car ried out with a Prostatron A method to detect oedematous changes on he avily T2-weighted MR images was developed and used as an indicator of morphological changes. Results: The study showed some correlation (r=0 .59) between the energy given at TUMT and an increased T2 signal. All patients with increased T2 signal except one were found among those wh o received the highest amount of energy to the prostate. Of 8 patients , 6 showed a symptomatic response to the treatment and 2 did not. Ther e was a weak statistical correlation (r=0.41) between treatment respon se and increased T2 signal. Conclusion: The study does not support the view that TUMT leads to significant necrosis in the prostate with los s of tissue and retraction. We theorize that the response to TUMT may be caused by a denervation of the prostate.