With the introduction of helical CT and its ability to acquire images very rapidly, new problems are being encountered, which can profoundly affect the quality of CT examinations performed for evaluation of known or suspected renal masses. In this article, these problems are summarized and recommendations made for CT techniques that will maximize sensitivity and specificity in renal mass detection, accuracy in renal mass characterization, and accuracy in staging of renal cancer.
Nephron-sparing surgery is more technically demanding than conventional nephrectomy. The urologist can benefit from modern radiological methods to plan and monitor surgery and to provide post-surgical surveillance. This article describes how 3D volume renderings of CT and MRI data can be useful in planning nephron-sparing surgery, how intraoperative imaging can guide surgery and tumor ablation, and how CT and MRI can be used to monitor for recurrent disease and postoperative complications.
Management of carcinoma of the prostate has traditionally been guided by digital rectal examination, and by laboratory data such as serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level and histopathologic tumor grade. The introduction of the endorectal coil has improved the ability of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to contribute to staging and treatment planning of prostate cancer, especially in cases of confined or locally invasive disease. Exciting research in the fields of magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) and MR-guided intervention of the prostate may soon expand the role of MRI in the diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer. This article reviews current MRI techniques, the MRI features of prostate cancer, the role and efficacy of MRI in prostate carcinoma staging, and the current and future uses of MR spectroscopy and MR-guided prostate brachytherapy.
Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) to prostate-specific antigens, such as PSMA, have great potential as diagnostic and therapeutic tools in the management of advanced prostate cancer. PSMA is a very attractive target for mAb-based imaging. It is expressed by virtually all prostate cancers and its expression is further increased in poorly differentiated, metastatic, and hormone-refractory carcinomas. The ProstaScint scan (Cytogen, Princeton, NJ), based on the mAb 7E11-C5.3, is currently approved for the imaging of prostate cancer in soft tissue but is not approved for imaging bone metastases. It appears superior to conventional imaging studies for soft-tissue disease but has limitations attributed to its intracellular binding site on PSMA. Overcoming this limitation, new mAbs to the extracellular domain of PSMA have been developed. The radioisotopes, (111)Indium, (90)Yttrium, and (177)Lutetium have been conjugated to one such mAb, J591. Radioimmunoscintigraphy with this immunoconjugate has demonstrated excellent tumor targeting of prostate cancer sites not only in soft tissue but also in bone.