In the early days of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), it was used strictly as a staging tool for biopsy-proven prostate cancers prior to surgery. It was not until the late 1990s that the potential of MRI to localize tumors within the prostate was recognized. In the last decade, MRI has evolved to include a combination of anatomical and functional MR sequences, creating the so-called
... [Show full abstract] multiparametric MRI (mpMRI). When used in combination with transrectal ultrasound (TRUS) for MRI-fusion-guided targeted biopsies, this method has shown higher detection of clinically significant cancers and reduced detection of clinically insignificant cancers in patients after a prior negative systematic TRUS-guided biopsy. These promising results have led to increased application of mpMRI in the management of patients suspected of prostate cancer after negative systematic biopsies and in defining candidates for active surveillance.