The prostate: MR imaging and spectroscopy - Present and future

The applications of combined MR imaging and MR spectroscopic imaging of pro state cancer have expanded significantly over the past 10 years and have re ached the point of clinical trial results to test robustness and clinical s ignificance. MR spectroscopic imaging extends the diagnostic evaluation of prostate cancer beyond the morphologic information provided by MR imaging t hroughout the detection of cellular metabolites. The combined metabolic and anatomic information provided by MR imaging and MX spectroscopic imaging h as allowed a more accurate assessment of the presence, location, extent, an d aggressiveness of prostate cancer both before and after treatment. This i nformation has already demonstrated the ability to improve therapeutic plan ning for individual prostate cancer patients and shows great promise in the assessment of therapeutic response and the evaluation of new treatment reg imes.