Advantageous Detection of Significant Prostate Cancer Using a Low-Field, Office-Based MRI System

Abstract

Background Methods to diagnose prostate cancer (PCa), a highly prevalent disease, remain inadequate in terms of accuracy, cost, and logistical constraints for both patients and providers. Early and accurate detection of PCa is crucial to patient management, most notably in increasing quality of life and lowering cost burdens when considering the associated treatment and follow-up pathways. This article aims to discuss the impact to care pathways for nine patients whose PCa was detected by a novel Food and Drug Administration-cleared low-field magnetic resonance imager (MRI) for transperineal PCa interventions but was missed by standard-of-care systematic transrectal ultrasound (TRUS). Methodology From December 2020 to March 2022, 41 men with elevated prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels, positive digital rectal exam findings, and Prostate Imaging Reporting & Data System scores of three or higher were enrolled. Patients first underwent targeted transperineal biopsy guided by a low-field MRI (MRIgTBx) and co-registered with T2-weighted images from a pre-procedural 3-T MRI with suspicious lesions annotated by a board-certified radiologist. Following this procedure, patients underwent standard-of-care systematic transrectal ultrasound-guided biopsy (TRUSgSBx). The entire procedure was supervised by a board-certified urologist. Results Of the 41 enrolled patients, both MRIgTBx and TRUSgSBx biopsies detected PCa in 20 patients. MRIgTBx detected PCa in an additional nine patients that were missed by TRUSgSBx. Five of the nine patients elected to pursue immediate treatment. Patients with suspected PCa and a negative biopsy return to the clinic every three to six months for PSA tests, with additional biopsies performed every year for cases with increasing PSA levels. Conclusions Early detection of PCa in nine of the 41 patients using a novel MRIgTBx method has allowed for change management resulting in an improved quality of life and cost saving for those who opted for immediate treatment. Early intervention in cases where the standard-of-care TRUSgSBx treatment was falsely negative ultimately led to a decrease in additional screening procedures, biopsies, associated tests, and an improved pathway for patient management.

Keywords: biopsy; cancer; diagnosis; early detection; male urology; mri; prostate; prostate biopsy; urology.