Dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging and pharmacokinetic models in prostate cancer

Dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI enables noninvasive analysis of prostate vascularization as well as tumour angiogenesis and capillary permeability characteristics in prostate cancers. Pharmacokinetic models summarizing the complex information provided by signal intensity-time curves for a few quantitative pharmacokinetic parameters are increasingly being used in the routine clinical setting. This review consists of two parts. The first part discusses the advantages and disadvantages of the MR pulse sequences that can be used for performing DCE-MRI and also of the most widely used pharmacokinetic parameters and models and the parameters they describe. The second part outlines the range of current and potential future clinical applications of DCE-MRI and pharmacokinetic parametric maps in patients with prostate cancer, with reference to the current scientific literature on the topic. The potential clinical applications of DCE-MRI for prostate cancer include detection, localization, and staging, differentiation of recurrent cancer and estimation of the patient’s prognosis, as well as monitoring of treatment response.