Magnetic Resonance Imaging Assessment of Rectal and Vascular Changes Following Radiotherapy in Prostate Cancer Patients.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Radiotherapy is the preferred treatment method for early-stage prostate cancer. The objective of this study was to evaluate the alterations that take place in the vascular structures of non-operated prostate cancer patients following the administration of curative radiotherapy.

METHODS

In total, 102 male patients who underwent curative external radiotherapy for prostate cancer were included in the study. A contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (CE-MRI) examination was performed on these patients both prior to and 3 months after the radiotherapy sessions. CE-MRI images were evaluated based on the measurements performed for the internal and external diameters of the rectum and the diameters of the bilateral iliac and femoral arteries. All measurements were done by the utilization of the centimeter (cm) scale.

RESULTS

No statistically significant differences were found between the pre- and post-radiotherapeutic measurements of the rectal internal and external diameters, right and left external iliac artery diameters, right and left femoral artery diameters, Gleason scores, and total and free prostate-specific antigen (TPSA and FPSA) levels, in terms of pathological stagings. The mean values of the rectal external diameter, right external iliac artery diameter, and the right and left femoral artery diameters, together with the TPSA and FPSA levels, were found to have been diminished at measurements done 3 months after the radiotherapy (P = 0.001).

CONCLUSION

Vessel and rectal lumens were found to have been narrowed following radiotherapy, on CE-MRI examinations performed 3 months after the radiotherapy sessions.