USE OF NEW TURBO SPIN-ECHO PULSE SEQUENCE S WITH AND WITHOUT FAT-SUPPRESSION IN DIAGNOSIS AND STAGING OF PROSTATE CARCINOMA

MR studies using turbo-spin-echo pulse sequences (TSE) were performed on 27 patients with histologically confirmed prostate cancer. A prospe ctive study was conducted in 15 patients who underwent radical prostat ectomy. Turbo SE pulse sequences generate strongly T-2-weighted images of excellent quality with reduction of measurement time by a factor o f 4-6. A comparison with standard T-2-weighted spin-echo pulse sequenc es indicated an objective improvement in the contrast of pathological structures (p < 0.001). With respect to differentiation of stages T-2 and T-3 (TNM) during pathohistological correlation, sensitivity of 80% , specificity of 40% and an accuracy rate of 67% were obtained. Sensit ivity of 71% and specificity of 75% were obtained when decuding cases of infiltration into the seminal vesicles, with an accuracy rate of 73 %.