Combined Whole Body and Multiparametric Prostate Magnetic Resonance Imaging as a 1-Step Approach to the Simultaneous Assessment of Local Recurrence and Metastatic Disease after Radical Prostatectomy

Purpose: We report our initial experience with whole body and dedicated prostate magnetic resonance imaging as a single examination to assess local recurrence and metastatic disease in patients with suspected recurrent prostate cancer after radical prostatectomy.

Materials and methods: In this institutional review board approved, retrospective, single center study 76 consecutive patients with clinically suspected recurrent prostate cancer following radical prostatectomy underwent combined whole body and dedicated prostate magnetic resonance imaging at a single session from October 2014 to January 2016. Scans were evaluated to detect disease in the prostate bed and regional nodes, and at distant sites. Comparison was made to other imaging tests, and prostate bed, node and bone biopsies performed within 90 days.

Results: Whole body and dedicated prostate magnetic resonance imaging was completed successfully in all patients. Median prostate specific antigen was 0.36 ng/ml (range less than 0.05 to 56.12). Whole body and dedicated prostate magnetic resonance imaging identified suspected disease recurrence in 16 of 76 patients (21%), including local recurrence in the radical prostatectomy bed in 6, nodal metastases in 3, osseous metastases in 4 and multifocal metastatic disease in 3. In 43 patients at least 1 standard staging scan was done in addition to whole body and dedicated prostate magnetic resonance imaging. Concordance was demonstrated between the imaging modalities in 36 of 43 cases (84%). All metastatic lesions detected by other imaging tests were detected on magnetic resonance imaging. In addition, the magnetic resonance imaging modality detected osseous metastases in 4 patients with false-negative findings on other imaging tests, including 2 bone scans and 3 computerized tomography scans. It also excluded osseous disease in 1 patient with positive ¹⁸F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computerized tomography and subsequent negative bone biopsy.

Conclusions: Combined whole body and dedicated prostate magnetic resonance imaging is feasible in a clinical practice setting. It can provide incremental information compared to standard imaging in men with suspected prostate cancer recurrence after radical prostatectomy.