Neurovascular bundle identification and invasion by prostate cancer

This paper evaluates the accuracy of endorectal versus conventional MR imaging in identifying and detecting invasion of the neurovascular bundle (NVB) by prostate cancer. Thirty patients with clinical stage A or B prostate cancer underwent radical prostatectomy. MR imaging was performed with both the conventional technique and the endorectal probe. We evaluated the two sets of images independently, with surgical and direct pathologic correlation. Each set of images was interpreted separately by two readers blinded to all clinical data except for the presence of biopsy-proved cancer