[Magnetic resonance tomography of prostatic cancer. A histopathologic correlation]

A total of 52 patients with prostatic carcinoma were examined by MR imaging; 14 of them subsequently underwent radical prostatectomy and were included in this study. The resected prostates were sectioned axially and compared with the corresponding MR scans with special reference to the location and extent of the pathological changes. The prostatic carcinoma was visualized in 10 cases, but the size of the tumor was underestimated in 6 patients. In 9 of 10 patients the carcinoma was identifiable as an area of low signal intensity within the peripheral zone on T2-weighted images. The MR features of benign nodular hyperplasia are discussed.