Correlation of endorectal 2D JPRESS findings with pathological Gleason scores in prostate cancer patients.

Overview

To determine the metabolite ratios of (Cho + Cr)/Cit and (Cho + Cr)/Spm in patients with two ranges of pathological Gleason scores, namely (3 + 4) and (4 + 3). By using the localized two-dimensional (2D) J-resolved spectroscopy (JPRESS) technique, the metabolites ratios can be calculated and correlated with prostate cancer aggressiveness. A total of 24 patients who underwent endorectal 2D JPRESS between April 2006 and July 2007 were included in this study. The 2D JPRESS voxel was localized predominantly in the peripheral zone suspected for malignancy based on pathology. Using the metabolites such as total choline (Cho), creatine (Cr), spermine (Spm) and citrate (Cit), the ratios (Cho + Cr)/Cit and (Cho + Cr)/Spm were calculated. In 14 prostate cancer patients who had a final pathologic Gleason scores of i) (3 + 4 = 7, n = 7) and ii) (4 + 3 = 7, n = 7), the metabolite ratios (mean +/- SD) of (Cho + Cr)/Cit and (Cho + Cr)/Spm were calculated using the 2D JPRESS spectra as follows: i) (1.48 +/- 0.83) and (1.59 +/- 0.73); ii) (2.90 +/- 0.94) and (2.71 +/- 1.47), respectively. Higher percentage of aggressive disease correlates with higher metabolites ratio. Our pilot study suggests that 2D JPRESS can be reliably evaluated in a clinical setting using an endorectal coil. In addition to the citrate ratio, the spermine ratio also correlates with pathology based Gleason score.