MR Imaging of Prostate Cancer at 3T with an External Phased-Array Coil: Evaluation of T2-Weighted Images

1.5T Magnetic resonance (MR) imaging has become an accepted method for assessing prostate cancer. However, the role of 1.5T MRI in local staging of prostate cancer is limited. It is hoped that 3.0T MRI will be more useful in local staging of prostate cancer. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the tissue contrast, artifact presence, and image quality of T2-weighted images (T2WI) of prostate cancer using 3T MRI with a phased-array coil at different slice thicknesses and fields of view (FOV). We examined 15 patients with prostate cancer. We obtained MR images at slice thicknesses of 2 mm and 5 mm in both small and large FOV. The image obtained at a slice thickness of 2 mm with a small FOV had inferior tissue contrast compared to the other images (P<0.05), but there was no statistically significant difference in contrast between images obtained at a slice thickness of 2 mm with a large FOV and those obtained at a slice thickness of 5 mm. Artifacts were rated equally among the parameter combinations. The overall image quality obtained at a slice thickness of 2 mm with a large FOV was significantly superior to the other three imaging parameters (p<0.05). The image obtained at a slice thickness of 2 mm with a large FOV was superior to the other three images in evaluating T2WI of prostate cancer with 3T MRI.