New Prostate MRI Scoring Systems (PI-QUAL, PRECISE, PI-RR, and PI-FAB): AJR Expert Panel Narrative Review.

Multiparametric MRI (mpMRI), interpreted using PI-RADS, improves the initial detection of clinically significant prostate cancer (PCa). Prostate MR image quality has increasingly recognized relevance to the use of mpMRI for PCa diagnosis. Additionally, mpMRI is increasingly used in scenarios beyond initial detection, including active surveillance and assessment for local recurrence after prostatectomy, radiation therapy, or focal therapy. Acknowledging these evolving demands, specialized prostate MRI scoring systems beyond PI-RADS have emerged, to address distinct scenarios and unmet needs. Examples include Prostate Imaging Quality (PI-QUAL) for assessment of image quality of mpMRI, Prostate Cancer Radiologic Estimation of Change in Sequential Evaluation (PRECISE) recommendations for evaluation of serial mpMRI examinations during active surveillance, Prostate Imaging for Recurrence Reporting System (PI-RR) for assessment for local recurrence after prostatectomy or radiation therapy, and Prostate Imaging after Focal Ablation (PI-FAB) for assessment for local recurrence after focal therapy. These systems' development and early uptake signal a compelling shift towards prostate MRI standardization in different scenarios, and ongoing research will help refine their roles in practice. This AJR Expert Panel Narrative Review critically examines these new prostate MRI scoring systems (PI-QUAL, PRECISE, PI-RR, and PI-FAB), analyzing the available evidence, delineating current limitations, and proposing solutions for improvement.

Adrenal Mass Biopsy in Patients Without Extraadrenal Primary Malignancy: A Multicenter Study.

BACKGROUND. Adrenal washout CT is not useful for evaluating incidental adrenal masses in patients without known or suspected primary extraadrenal malignancy. OBJECTIVE. The purpose of our study was to evaluate the diagnostic utility of adrenal mass biopsy in patients without known or suspected extraadrenal primary malignancy. METHODS. This retrospective six-center study included 69 patients (mean age, 56 years; 32 men, 37 women) without known or suspected extraadrenal primary malignancy who underwent image-guided core needle biopsy between January 2004 and June 2021 of a mass suspected to be arising from the adrenal gland. Biopsy results were classified as diagnostic or nondiagnostic. For masses resected after biopsy, histopathologic concordance was assessed between diagnoses from biopsy and resection. Masses were classified as benign or malignant by resection or imaging follow-up, and all nondi-agnostic biopsies were classified as false results. RESULTS. The median mass size was 7.4 cm (range, 1.9-19.2 cm). Adrenal mass biopsy had a diagnostic yield of 64% (44/69; 95% CI, 51-75%). After biopsy, 25 masses were resected, and 44 had imaging follow-up. Of the masses that were resected after diagnostic biopsy, diagnosis was concordant between biopsy and resection in 100% (12/12). Of the 13 masses that were resected after nondiagnostic biopsy, the diagnosis from re-section was benign in eight masses and malignant in five masses. The 44 masses with imaging follow-up included one mass with diagnostic biopsy yielding benign adenoma and two masses with nondiagnostic biopsy results that were classified as malignant by imaging follow-up. Biopsy had overall sensitivity and specificity for malignancy of 73% (22/30) and 54% (21/39), respectively; diagnostic biopsies had sensitivity and specificity for malignancy of 96% (22/23) and 100% (21/21), respectively. Among nine nondi-agnostic biopsies reported as adrenocortical neoplasm, six were classified as malignant by the reference standard (resection showing adrenocortical carcinoma in four, resection showing adrenocortical neoplasm of uncertain malignant potential in one, imaging follow-up consistent with malignancy in one). CONCLUSION. Adrenal mass biopsy had low diagnostic yield, with low sensitivity and low specificity for malignancy. A biopsy result of adrenocortical neoplasm did not reliably differentiate benign and malignant adrenal masses. CLINICAL IMPACT. Biopsy appears to have limited utility for the evaluation of incidental adrenal masses in patients without primary extraadrenal malignancy.

ACR Appropriateness Criteria® Acute Onset Flank Pain-Suspicion of Stone Disease (Urolithiasis).

Noncontrast CT (NCCT) is the imaging study of choice for initial evaluation of patients with acute onset of flank pain and suspicion of stone disease without known prior stone disease. NCCT can reliably characterize the location and size of an offending ureteral calculus, identify complications, and diagnose alternative etiologies of abdominal pain. Although less sensitive in the detection of stones, ultrasound may have a role in evaluating for signs of obstruction. Radiography potentially has a role, although has been shown to be less sensitive than NCCT. For patients with known disease and recurrent symptoms of urolithiasis, NCCT remains the test of choice for evaluation. In pregnancy, given radiation concerns, ultrasound is recommended as the initial modality of choice with potential role for noncontrast MRI. In scenarios where stone disease suspected and initial NCCT is inconclusive, contrast-enhanced imaging, either with MRI or CT/CT urogram may be appropriate. The American College of Radiology Appropriateness Criteria are evidence-based guidelines for specific clinical conditions that are reviewed annually by a multidisciplinary expert panel. The guideline development and revision process support the systematic analysis of the medical literature from peer reviewed journals. Established methodology principles such as Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation or GRADE are adapted to evaluate the evidence. The RAND/UCLA Appropriateness Method User Manual provides the methodology to determine the appropriateness of imaging and treatment procedures for specific clinical scenarios. In those instances where peer reviewed literature is lacking or equivocal, experts may be the primary evidentiary source available to formulate a recommendation.

Bi-parametric prostate MRI with a recall system for contrast enhanced imaging: Improving accessibility while maintaining quality.

PURPOSE: To review the efficacy of a recall system for bi-parametric non-contrast prostate MRI (bp-MRI). METHODS: A bi-parametric protocol was instituted in July 2020 for all patients who had a prostate MRI requested, excluding those after treatment of prostate cancer, patients with hip prosthesis or pacemaker, and those who lived out-of-town. The protocol consisted of tri-planar T2-weighted and diffusion weighted images (DWI) (b = 50, 800 s/mm2 for ADC map; b = 1,500 s/mm2 acquired separately) in accordance with the Prostate Imaging Reporting & Data system (PI-RADS) v2.1 guidelines. After interpretation of bp-MRI exams, patients with equivocal (PI-RADS 3) lesions in peripheral zone (PZ) or any technical limitations were recalled for contrast administration. RESULTS: Out of 909 bp-MRI scans performed from July 2020 to April 2021, only 52 (5.7 %) were recalled, of which 46 (88.5 %) attended. Amongst these, 41/52 (78.8 %) were recalled for PZ PI-RADS 3 lesions, while the rest of 11 (21.2 %) cases were recalled for technical reasons. Mean time to subsequent recall scan was 11.6 days. On assessment of post-contrast imaging, 29/46 (63 %) cases were upgraded to PI-RADS 4 while 17/46 (37 %) remained PI-RADS 3. This system avoided contrast-agent use in 857 patients, with contrast cost savings of €64,620 (US$68,560) and 214 hours 15 minutes of scanner time was saved. This allowed 255 additional bp-MRI scans to be performed, reducing the waitlist from 1 year to 2-3 weeks. CONCLUSION: A bi-parametric prostate MRI protocol with a robust recall system for contrast administration not only saved time eliminating the marked backlog but was also more cost efficient without compromising the quality of patient care.

Magnetic Resonance Imaging-Targeted Versus Systematic Prostate Biopsies: 2-year Follow-up of a Prospective Randomized Trial (PRECISE).

BACKGROUND: The prospective randomized PRECISE trial demonstrated that magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with only targeted biopsy (TBx) was noninferior to systematic transrectal ultrasound biopsy (SBx) in the detection of International Society of Urological Pathology grade group (GG) ≥2 prostate cancer (PC). An unanswered question is the outcome for patients who avoided a biopsy because of negative MRI findings. OBJECTIVE: To explore the rate of PC diagnosis based on 2-yr MRI for PRECISE participants who had no biopsy and for patients who had a negative result or GG 1 on TBx in comparison to those with a negative result or GG 1 on SBx. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: The PRECISE prospective trial was conducted at five Canadian academic centers. The present analysis was for trial participants who were not diagnosed with clinically significant PC (csPC) at baseline. Of 453 randomized patients, 146 were diagnosed with GG ≥2 at baseline and were excluded. Eligible patients for this study included 83 men from the MRI arm who had negative MRI findings and no biopsy, 120 from the overall cohort who had a negative SBx or TBx, and 72 from the overall cohort who were diagnosed with GG 1 disease. INTERVENTION: MRI at 2 yr in all men in the MRI and SBx arms and TBx for lesions with a Prostate Imaging-Reporting and Data System score of ≥3 or on the basis of clinical suspicion. OUTCOME MEASUREMENTS AND STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: The primary outcome was the proportion of men diagnosed with GG ≥2 cancer. Secondary outcomes included the MRI outcome and the proportion of men diagnosed with GG 1 PC. RESULTS AND LIMITATIONS: Evaluable 2-yr MRI scans were available for 75 (56%) eligible patients in the MRI arm and 69 (49%) in the SBx arm. Of these patients, 55 (73%) in the MRI arm and 51 (67%) SBx arm had negative 2-yr MRI. Of the 76 patients in the SBx arm with 2-yr MRI, 16 (21%) had a biopsy, for which the result was negative in eight (10%), GG1 in two (2.6%), and GG ≥2 in six (7.9%) cases. Of the 75 men in the MRI arm with 2-yr MRI, eight (11%) were biopsied, for which the result was negative in four cases (5%) and GG ≥2 in the other four (5%). At 2 yr, including baseline biopsy results, 116/221 (52.5%) in the MRI arm and 113/204 (55%) in the SBx arm were free of GG ≥2 disease, treatment, death from any cause, or progression (OR 1.08; p = 0.66). CONCLUSIONS: After 2-yr follow-up including MRI for patients in both arms of PRECISE, there was no difference in the rate of csPC diagnosis between the MRI and SBx groups, even though 38% of men in the MRI group avoided an initial biopsy. PATIENT SUMMARY: The PRECISE trial compared systematic biopsy of the prostate to a strategy of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with targeted biopsy of any lesions suspicious for cancer on the scan. After 2 years of follow-up that included 2-year MRI with or without biopsy in both groups, there was no difference in the rate of diagnosis of significant cancer, even though 38% of men in the initial MRI arm avoided an initial biopsy, and 30% avoided biopsy altogether. The PRECISE trial is registered on ClinicalTrials.gov as NCT02936258.

Use of Imaging and Biopsy in Prostate Cancer Diagnosis: A Survey From the Asian Prostate Imaging Working Group.

OBJECTIVE: To elucidate the use of radiological studies, including nuclear medicine, and biopsy for the diagnosis and staging of prostate cancer (PCA) in clinical practice and understand the current status of PCA in Asian countries via an international survey. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The Asian Prostate Imaging Working Group designed a survey questionnaire with four domains focused on prostate magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), other prostate imaging, prostate biopsy, and PCA backgrounds. The questionnaire was sent to 111 members of professional affiliations in Korea, Japan, Singapore, and Taiwan who were representatives of their working hospitals, and their responses were analyzed. RESULTS: This survey had a response rate of 97.3% (108/111). The rates of using 3T scanners, antispasmodic agents, laxative drugs, and prostate imaging-reporting and data system reporting for prostate MRI were 21.6%-78.9%, 22.2%-84.2%, 2.3%-26.3%, and 59.5%-100%, respectively. Respondents reported using the highest b-values of 800-2000 sec/mm² and fields of view of 9-30 cm. The prostate MRI examinations per month ranged from 1 to 600, and they were most commonly indicated for biopsy-naïve patients suspected of PCA in Japan and Singapore and staging of proven PCA in Korea and Taiwan. The most commonly used radiotracers for prostate positron emission tomography are prostate-specific membrane antigen in Singapore and fluorodeoxyglucose in three other countries. The most common timing for prostate MRI was before biopsy (29.9%). Prostate-targeted biopsies were performed in 63.8% of hospitals, usually by MRI-ultrasound fusion approach. The most common presentation was localized PCA in all four countries, and it was usually treated with radical prostatectomy. CONCLUSION: This survey showed the diverse technical details and the availability of imaging and biopsy in the evaluation of PCA. This suggests the need for an educational program for Asian radiologists to promote standardized evidence-based imaging approaches for the diagnosis and staging of PCA.

ACR Appropriateness Criteria® Staging of Renal Cell Carcinoma: 2022 Update.

Renal cell carcinoma is a complex group of highly heterogenous renal tumors demonstrating variable biological behavior. Pretreatment imaging of renal cell carcinoma involves accurate assessment of the primary tumor, presence of nodal, and distant metastases. CT and MRI are the key imaging modalities used in the staging of renal cell carcinoma. Important imaging features that impact treatment include tumor extension into renal sinus and perinephric fat, involvement of pelvicalyceal system, infiltration into adrenal gland, involvement of renal vein and inferior vena cava, as well as the presence of metastatic adenopathy and distant metastases. The American College of Radiology Appropriateness Criteria are evidence-based guidelines for specific clinical conditions that are reviewed annually by a multidisciplinary expert panel. The guideline development and revision process support the systematic analysis of the medical literature from peer reviewed journals. Established methodology principles such as Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation or GRADE are adapted to evaluate the evidence. The RAND/UCLA Appropriateness Method User Manual provides the methodology to determine the appropriateness of imaging and treatment procedures for specific clinical scenarios. In those instances where peer reviewed literature is lacking or equivocal, experts may be the primary evidentiary source available to formulate a recommendation.

Canadian Association of Radiologists Prostate MRI White Paper.

Prostate cancer is the most common malignancy and the third most common cause of death in Canadian men. In light of evolving diagnostic pathways for prostate cancer and the increased use of MRI, which now includes its use in men prior to biopsy, the Canadian Association of Radiologists established a Prostate MRI Working Group to produce a white paper to provide recommendations on establishing and maintaining a Prostate MRI Programme in the context of the Canadian healthcare system. The recommendations, which are based on available scientific evidence and/or expert consensus, are intended to maintain quality in image acquisition, interpretation, reporting and targeted biopsy to ensure optimal patient care. The paper covers technique, reporting, quality assurance and targeted biopsy considerations and includes appendices detailing suggested reporting templates, quality assessment tools and sample image acquisition protocols relevant to the Canadian healthcare context.

IgG4-related prostatitis manifesting as urinary obstruction in a 28-year-old male.

BACKGROUND: Immunoglobulin G4-related disease (IgG4-RD) is a systemic lymphoproliferative disorder characterized by elevated serum IgG4 levels and tumefactive lesions that can involve nearly every organ system. Involvement of the prostate is rare but has been reported in limited cases. CASE PRESENTATION: A 28-year-old man of Asian descent with a history of sinusitis and priapism presented to hospital with rigors and voiding symptoms. He was diagnosed with IgG4-RD one month prior to presentation, following pathological analysis of a submandibular mass that demonstrated chronic sclerosing sialadenitis. On presentation, white blood cell count, C-reactive protein, and prostate serum antigen levels were all within normal limits. Examination was notable for a large, firm prostate, and a foley catheter was inserted. Contrast CT of the abdomen was unremarkable. Further workup revealed elevated serum IgG4 levels (9.22 g/L) and he was subsequently started on prednisone 35 mg daily. Imaging to screen for systemic IgG4-RD involvement demonstrated paravertebral soft tissue involvement and he was given rituximab 1000 mg IV × 2 doses. MRI revealed diffuse prostatitis. Five days after starting prednisone and one day after his first dose of rituximab, he successfully passed trial of void and was discharged home. CONCLUSIONS: IgG4-related prostatitis is a rare and underrecognized manifestation of IgG4-RD. Our case highlights the need to consider IgG4-related prostatitis as an etiology of urinary obstruction in young individuals. Resolution of symptoms following treatment with steroids may be diagnostic of IgG4-related prostatitis, and may potentially avoid the need for invasive diagnostic procedures such as prostate biopsy.

Second-opinion reads in prostate MRI: added value of subspecialty interpretation and review at multidisciplinary rounds.

PURPOSE: This study evaluates the impact of second-opinion review of multiparametric prostate MRI for cancer detection by a multidisciplinary review board at a tertiary care center when compared with the initial community radiologist interpretation. METHODS: Cases were collected retrospectively from multidisciplinary prostate MRI rounds from 2017 to 2020 at a single tertiary care center. Patients with suspected prostate cancer or on active surveillance were referred for consideration of TRUS/MRI-fusion biopsy based on community-read prostate MRIs. All MRIs were re-read by subspecialized abdominal radiologists and a PI-RADS score assigned. Targeted fusion and 8-12 core systematic biopsy was performed in patients with PIRADS ≥ 3 lesions. Cohen kappa values were used to quantify interobserver agreement. Positive predictive value (PPV) was used to determine accuracy of PI-RADS score for detection of clinically significant prostate cancer (csPCa) (ISUP Grade Group ≥ 2). RESULTS: Three hundred and thirty-two lesions in 303 patients were reviewed and 252 lesions in 198 patients biopsied. The PI-RADS score was concordant in 60.5% of lesions, downgraded in 17.8%, and upgraded in 7.8%. Agreement between community and tertiary center interpretation was fair (κ = 0.354), with greater agreement for PI-RADS ≥ 4 (κ = 0.523) than PI-RADS ≥ 3 (κ = 0.456), and peripheral zone (κ = 0.419) than transition zone lesions (κ = 0.251). Prevalence of csPCa in biopsied lesions was 40.9%. CONCLUSION: There is variability in community and tertiary care center interpretation of prostate MRI in cancer detection, with higher concordance rates for higher grade and peripheral zone lesions. These differences demonstrate the added value of multidisciplinary round review and highlight the need for ongoing education and feedback.

MR Imaging Contrast Agents: Role in Imaging of Chronic Liver Diseases.

Contrast-enhanced MR imaging plays an important role in the evaluation of patients with chronic liver disease, particularly for detection and characterization of liver lesions. The two most commonly used contrast agents for liver MR imaging are extracellular agents (ECAs) and hepatobiliary agents (HBAs). In patients with liver disease, the main advantage of ECA-enhanced MR imaging is its high specificity for the diagnosis of progressed HCCs. Conversely, HBAs have an additional contrast mechanism, which results in high liver-to-lesion contrast and highest sensitivity for lesion detection in the hepatobiliary phase. Emerging data suggest that features depicted on contrast-enhanced MR imaging scans are related to tumor biology and are predictive of patients' prognosis, likely to further expand the role of contrast-enhanced MR imaging in the clinical care of patients with chronic liver disease.

MRI Targeted Prostate Biopsy Techniques: AJR Expert Panel Narrative Review.

Prostate cancer is the second most common malignancy in men worldwide. Systematic transrectal prostate biopsy is commonly used to obtain tissue to establish the diagnosis. In recent years, however, more clinically significant cancer and less clinically insignificant cancer have been detected with MRI targeted biopsy (on the basis of an MRI examination performed before consideration of biopsy) than with systematic biopsy. This approach of performing MRI before biopsy has become, or is becoming, a standard of practice in centers throughout the world. This growing use of an MRI-directed pathway is leading to performance of a larger volume of MRI targeted prostate biopsies. The three common MRI targeted biopsy techniques are cognitive biopsy, MRI-ultrasound software fusion biopsy, and MRI in-bore guided biopsy. These techniques for using MRI information at biopsy can be performed via a transrectal or transperineal approach. The purpose of this review is to describe the three MRI targeted biopsy techniques and their advantages and shortcomings. Comparisons among the techniques are summarized on the basis of the available evidence. Studies to date have had heterogeneous results, and the preferred technique remains debated.

SBRT for HCC: Overview of technique and treatment response assessment.

Stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) is an emerging locoregional treatment (LRT) modality used in the management of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The decision to treat HCC with LRT is evaluated in a multidisciplinary setting, and the specific LRT chosen depends on the treatment intent, such as bridge-to-transplant, down-staging to transplant, definitive/curative treatment, and/or palliation, as well as underlying patient clinical factors. Accurate assessment of treatment response is necessary in order to guide clinical management in these patients. Patients who undergo LRT need continuous imaging evaluation to assess treatment response and to evaluate for recurrence. Thus, an accurate understanding of expected post-SBRT imaging findings is critical to avoid misinterpreting normal post-treatment changes as local progression or viable tumor. SBRT-treated HCC demonstrates unique imaging findings that differ from HCC treated with other forms of LRT. In particular, SBRT-treated HCC can demonstrate persistent APHE and washout on short-term follow-up imaging. This brief review summarizes current evidence for the use of SBRT for HCC, including patient population, SBRT technique and procedure, tumor response assessment on contrast-enhanced cross-sectional imaging with expected findings, and pitfalls in treatment response evaluation.

The impact and collateral damage of COVID-19 on prostate MRI and guided biopsy operations: Society of Abdominal Radiology Prostate Cancer Disease-Focused Panel survey analysis.

The Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has significantly affected health care systems throughout the world. A Qualtrics survey was targeted for radiologists around the world to study its effect on the operations of prostate MRI studies and biopsies. Descriptive statistics were reported. A total of 60 complete responses from five continents were included in the analysis. 70% of the responses were from academic institutions. Among all participants, the median (range) number of prostate MRI was 20 (0, 135) per week before the COVID-19 pandemic versus 10 (0, 30) during the lockdown period; the median (range) number of prostate biopsies was 4.5 (0, 60) per week before the COVID-19 versus 0 (0, 12) during the lockdown period. Among the 30% who used bowel preparation for their patients prior to MRI routinely, 11% stopped the bowel preparation due to the pandemic. 47% reported that their radiology departments faced staff disruptions, while 68% reported changes in clinic schedules in other clinical departments, particularly urology, genitourinary medical oncology, and radiation oncology. Finally, COVID-19 pandemic was found to disrupt not only the clinical prostate MRI operations but also impacted prostate MRI/biopsy research in up to 50% of institutions. The impact of this collateral damage in delaying diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer is yet to be explored.

Treatment response assessment following transarterial radioembolization for hepatocellular carcinoma.

Transarterial radioembolization with yttrium-90 microspheres is an established therapy for hepatocellular carcinoma. Post-procedural imaging is important for the assessment of both treatment response and procedural complications. A variety of challenging treatment-specific imaging phenomena complicate imaging assessment, such as changes in tumoral size, tumoral and peritumoral enhancement, and extrahepatic complications. A review of the procedural steps, emerging variations, and timelines for post-treatment tumoral and extra-tumoral imaging changes are presented, which may aid the reporting radiologist in the interpretation of post-procedural imaging. Furthermore, a description of post-procedural complications and their significance is provided.

Comparison of Multiparametric Magnetic Resonance Imaging-Targeted Biopsy With Systematic Transrectal Ultrasonography Biopsy for Biopsy-Naive Men at Risk for Prostate Cancer: A Phase 3 Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with targeted biopsy is an appealing alternative to systematic 12-core transrectal ultrasonography (TRUS) biopsy for prostate cancer diagnosis, but has yet to be widely adopted. Objective: To determine whether MRI with only targeted biopsy was noninferior to systematic TRUS biopsies in the detection of International Society of Urological Pathology grade group (GG) 2 or greater prostate cancer. Design, Setting, and Participants: This multicenter, prospective randomized clinical trial was conducted in 5 Canadian academic health sciences centers between January 2017 and November 2019, and data were analyzed between January and March 2020. Participants included biopsy-naive men with a clinical suspicion of prostate cancer who were advised to undergo a prostate biopsy. Clinical suspicion was defined as a 5% or greater chance of GG2 or greater prostate cancer using the Prostate Cancer Prevention Trial Risk Calculator, version 2. Additional criteria were serum prostate-specific antigen levels of 20 ng/mL or less (to convert to micrograms per liter, multiply by 1) and no contraindication to MRI. Interventions: Magnetic resonance imaging-targeted biopsy (MRI-TB) only if a lesion with a Prostate Imaging Reporting and Data System (PI-RADS), v 2.0, score of 3 or greater was identified vs 12-core systematic TRUS biopsy. Main Outcome and Measures: The proportion of men with a diagnosis of GG2 or greater cancer. Secondary outcomes included the proportion who received a diagnosis of GG1 prostate cancer; GG3 or greater cancer; no significant cancer but subsequent positive MRI results and/or GG2 or greater cancer detected on a repeated biopsy by 2 years; and adverse events. Results: The intention-to-treat population comprised 453 patients (367 [81.0%] White, 19 [4.2%] African Canadian, 32 [7.1%] Asian, and 10 [2.2%] Hispanic) who were randomized to undergo TRUS biopsy (226 [49.9%]) or MRI-TB (227 [51.1%]), of which 421 (93.0%) were evaluable per protocol. A lesion with a PI-RADS score of 3 or greater was detected in 138 of 221 men (62.4%) who underwent MRI, with 26 (12.1%), 82 (38.1%), and 30 (14.0%) having maximum PI-RADS scores of 3, 4, and 5, respectively. Eighty-three of 221 men who underwent MRI-TB (37%) had a negative MRI result and avoided biopsy. Cancers GG2 and greater were identified in 67 of 225 men (30%) who underwent TRUS biopsy vs 79 of 227 (35%) allocated to MRI-TB (absolute difference, 5%, 97.5% 1-sided CI, -3.4% to ∞; noninferiority margin, -5%). Adverse events were less common in the MRI-TB arm. Grade group 1 cancer detection was reduced by more than half in the MRI arm (from 22% to 10%; risk difference, -11.6%; 95% CI, -18.2% to -4.9%). Conclusions and Relevance: Magnetic resonance imaging followed by selected targeted biopsy is noninferior to initial systematic biopsy in men at risk for prostate cancer in detecting GG2 or greater cancers. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02936258.

Practice Patterns and Challenges of Performing and Interpreting Prostate MRI: A Survey by the Society of Abdominal Radiology Prostate Disease-Focused Panel.

OBJECTIVE. The purpose of this study was to report on the practice patterns and challenges of performing and interpreting prostate MRI. SUBJECTS AND METHODS. An electronic survey regarding prostate MRI practice patterns and challenges was sent to members of the Society of Abdominal Radiology. RESULTS. The response rate was 15% (212/1446). Most (65%) of the respondents were academic abdominal radiologists with 1-5 (52%), 6-10 (20%), 11-20 (15%), and more than 20 (5%) years of experience in reporting prostate MRI. The numbers of prostate MRI examinations reported per week were 0-5 (43%), 6-10 (38%), 11-20 (12%), 21-30 (5%), and more than 30 (2%). Imaging was performed at 3 T (58%), 1.5 T (20%), or either (21%), and most examinations (83%) were performed without an endorectal coil. Highest b values ranged from 800 to 5000 s/mm2; 1400 s/mm2 (26%) and 1500 s/mm2 (30%) were the most common. Most respondents (79%) acquired dynamic contrast-enhanced images with temporal resolution of less than 10 seconds. Most (71%) of the prostate MRI studies were used for fusion biopsy. PI-RADS version 2 was used by 92% of the respondents and template reporting by 80%. Challenges to performing and interpreting prostate MRI were scored on a 1-5 Likert scale (1, easy; 2, somewhat easy; 3, neutral; 4, somewhat difficult; 5, very difficult). The median scores were 2 or 3 for patient preparatory factors. Image acquisition and reporting factors were scored 1-2, except for performing spectroscopy or using an endorectal coil, both of which scored 4. Acquiring patient history scored 2 and quality factors scored 3. CONCLUSION. Most radiologists perform prostate MRI at 3 T without an endorectal coil and interpret the images using PI-RADS version 2. Challenges include obtaining quality images, acquiring feedback, and variability in the interpretation of PI-RADS scores.

Examining Gender Disparity in Academic Abdominal Radiology in North America.

BACKGROUND: Gender disparity exists in nearly every medical specialty, particularly in leadership roles and academia. Radiology is not exempt from this phenomenon, with women making up less than a third of radiology residents in the United States (US). This can have long-lasting effects on the career progression of female radiologists. Our search did not reveal any study on gender composition in academic abdominal radiology. PURPOSE: To evaluate the academic productivity and career advancement of female academic abdominal radiology faculty in the United States and Canada. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Parameters of academic achievement were measured, including the number of citations and publications, years of research, as well as H-index. Information regarding academic and leadership ranking among academic abdominal radiologists in the United States and Canada was also analyzed. RESULTS: In academic abdominal radiology, there were fewer females than males (34.9% vs 65.1%; p-value 0.256). Among the female radiologists, the greatest proportion held the rank of assistant professor (40%). Female representation decreased with increasing rank. Females had a lower H-index than males (P-value = 0.0066) and significantly fewer years of research than males (P-value = 0.0243). CONCLUSION: Male predominance in academic abdominal radiology is similar to many other medical specialties, and encompasses senior faculty rank, leadership roles and research productivity.