Nuclear Oncology

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) is a noninvasive medical test that helps physicians diagnose and treat medical conditions.

MRI uses a powerful magnetic field, radio frequency pulses and a computer to create detailed images of organs, soft tissues, bone and virtually all other internal body structures. Thus, images can be viewed in the monitor of a computer, transmitted electronically, printed or copied to a CD. MRI does not use ionizing radiation (X rays).

The detailed images obtained with MRI allow physicians to better evaluate parts of the body and determine the presence of certain diseases that could not be assessed adequately with other imaging methods such as X-rays, ultrasound or computed tomography (also called CT or CAT scanning).

The prostate is a gland the size of a walnut that is part of the male reproductive system. In front of the rectum and below the bladder, where urine is stored, and surrounds the urethra, the tube through which urine leaves the body and other fluids. The prostate helps make the milky fluid called semen that carries sperm outside the body when a man ejaculates. Ultrasound and MRI are the techniques used to visualize the prostate.

Some common uses of the procedure

The main indication for MRI of the prostate is prostate cancer screening. The test is commonly used after a biopsy confirmed prostate cancer to determine if the cancer is confined to the prostate or has spread outside the walls of the prostate gland.

Occasionally, MRI of the prostate is used to evaluate other prostate problems, including:

* Infection (prostatitis) or prostate abscess.
* Enlarged prostate, called benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH).

If a biopsy confirms cancer, the doctor may use MRI or other imaging techniques to determine if the cancer is confined to the prostate or has spread out from the walls of the gland.