High field MRI effective for prostate

COLUMBUS, Ohio, April 11 (UPI) -- High field magnetic resonance imaging gives good images without an endorectal coil to detect prostate cancer, a U.S. study says.

An endorectal coil MRI is a type of medical imaging in which MRI is used in conjunction with a coil placed into the rectum. The coil is used to obtain high quality images of the area surrounding the rectum to detect the spread of prostate and other cancers.

Researchers at Ohio State University in Columbus found MRIs without using a wire coil correctly localized cancer in 11 of the 13 patients in the study and provided useful surgical road maps in all cases.

"The 3T MRI datasets were acquired without an endorectal coil and were used during robotic surgery," study lead author Dr. Steffen Sammet said in a statement. "Since the use of an endorectal coil leads to deformation of the prostate and potentially altered microcirculation, our goal was to assess the capability of detecting prostate cancer areas" using MRIs without the coil and see if they matched up with surgical pathology.

There was an agreement with pathology in 10 of the 13 patients regarding extracapsulation -- the extent of the tumor outside the prostate capsule -- and 11 of 13 regarding seminal vesicle involvement.

The findings are scheduled to be presented as an electronic exhibit at the American Roentgen Ray Society's annual meeting in Washington.