Radiology can help in the diagnosis and treatment of several diseases, including prostate cancer. November is marked by the “Blue November” campaign, which discloses the importance of prevention and early diagnosis of the disease. Therefore, the Latin Safe initiative decided to talk about it.

Prostate neoplasia was usually clinically evaluated by digital rectal exam, associated with a laboratory test, PSA, to define which patients would have an increased suspicion of this neoplasm. Once the patient had abnormal touch and / or increased PSA, he was directed to a random prostate biopsy, ie, randomized prostate biopsy without a definite target.

In recent years, multiparametric prostate MRI has been gaining strength as an ancillary exam for patients with suspected prostate cancer to better define who would benefit most from the biopsy. Currently, patients with abnormal touch and / or PSA augmentation are directed to a dedicated prostate MRI, without use of radiation or endorectal coil, and only if there is a suspicious area will they be biopsied, focusing on the region of interest. This procedure has already been widely validated and is currently endorsed by guidelines from the American and European urological societies.

It is estimated that this approach will allow up to 20-40% of patients to be able to dispense with biopsy at first.

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