MRI-Guided Prostate Biopsy

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is rapidly being established as the modality of choice for evaluating the prostate and surrounding anatomy and for radiologically detecting prostate cancer. As is often the case for diagnostic MRI, this trend results from the integration of multiple soft-tissue contrast mechanisms, such as T2- and T1-weighted imaging and functional imaging techniques, such as diffusion, dynamic contrast enhancement, and spectroscopy. Similar to the evolution of biopsy in breast cancer, this appears to be leading to a workflow in which some patients may be better served by undergoing an MRI-guided biopsy of the prostate as opposed to a conventional multi-core, transrectal ultrasound-guided biopsy. In response to this, integrated hardware and software solutions for performing MRI-guided biopsies in the prostate are being developed, validated, and commercialized. Although it is early in clinical adoption, this technology shows promise in increasing the sensitivity and positive predictive value of prostate biopsy in the future.