MRI scan area coverage

User

Posted 04 Feb 2022 at 10:41

Hi all,

Got diagnosed last Friday and just trying to understand more in advance of my next consultation Wed.

i had an initial MRI which showed a growth that prompted the biopsy that confirmed the diagnosis. my question is does this scan just scan the prostate or the surrounding areas as well? just worried about possible spread and wondered if this scan (or the biopsy) provided any indications?

thanks in advance

John

User

Posted 04 Feb 2022 at 11:13

Hi John,

MRI scan of the prostate does cover the other contents of the pelvis as well, so there is some information about other tissues nearby. In my case, the MRI found an aneurysm of the right iliac artery for example, which was subsequently imaged in more detail with a CT Angiogram.

The biopsy only samples tissue from the prostate, so it cannot tell what's going on elsewhere.

Usually if you have a biopsy result which shows cancer, you will get other scans (I had a PET CT scan) to look for spread outside the prostate

Hope this helps

All the best

Nigel

User

Posted 04 Feb 2022 at 12:31

Hi Nigel, Many thanks for your response and the information provided.

Much appreciated, take care.

John

User

Posted 04 Feb 2022 at 12:53

Yes, the biopsy will certainly give you details about the tissue in the prostate including whether any cancer is entirely contained within the prostate or not and whether it might have extended into the seminal vesicles. A template gives more samples and probably a better picture than a TRUS but neither it nor an MRI scan will tell you if there's spread beyond that and into nearby glands or elsewhere.

Key details to take away from your consultation will be Gleason score, history and recent rate of change of psa plus the potential need for further scans ... bone scan or maybe PSMA PET to locate mets in other places.

Jules

User

Posted 04 Feb 2022 at 14:11

Cheers Jules, much appreciated.

User

Posted 04 Feb 2022 at 15:38

In my case the prostate MRI found both an aneurysm of the splenic artery and a kidney tumour so yes, it does scan a wider region 🙂.

Cheers,

Chris (now minus a kidney and with coils of wire in the aneurysm)

User

Posted 04 Feb 2022 at 19:20

It is interesting that you go in for one thing and they find all sorts of other things wrong with you. My father always use to say that you go into hospital for a scan on one thing and come away with half a dozen other maladies to add to the original problem. And that is not far from the truth. When I had my scans for prostate cancer, before and after the biopsies, they found that both my kidneys had cysts on them (apparently quite common in men over 40), that my kidney function was around 68% ( which reduces as you get over 50) and that I had a fused lower vertebrae (probably caused by me having a really bad fall about 40 years earlier). My postmen fairly recently had scans for back pain and the reason for that was diagnosed and treated but the hospital also found that he had serious heart issues and told him that if he was not operated on he would be dead with 6 months. He has just undergone open heart surgery and is now on the mend. Perhaps we should all have a full MOT when we reach 50 to repair damage caused by aging.

Ivan

Edited by member 05 Feb 2022 at 10:09 | Reason: Not specified

User

Posted 04 Feb 2022 at 19:56

My surgeon told me that in 2018 that I'd have probably been dead in three years if the kidney tumour (which had no symptoms) hadn't been spotted, so thank goodness for prostate cancer - it saved my life! Apparently in most cases kidney cancer isn't found until you start getting symptoms like blood in your urine, by which time it's too late to treat.

I count myself as being extremely fortunate.

Cheers,

Chris

User

Posted 04 Feb 2022 at 21:42

Originally Posted by: Online Community Member

In my case the prostate MRI found both an aneurysm of the splenic artery and a kidney tumour so yes, it does scan a wider region 🙂.

Cheers,

Chris (now minus a kidney and with coils of wire in the aneurysm)

Yes, odd to be able to claim that prostate cancer saved your life but true 😀. I was thinking in terms of PCa but once you've been through a series of scans like this, including MRIs and bone scans, you get a rather scary picture of the wear and tear on your body in all sorts of different places, some of which can be vital as you say and other information that is just minor stuff you have to live with which isn't really worth worrying about.

Jules

User

Posted 05 Feb 2022 at 03:14

My understanding is that the usual MRI for PCa covers the Pelvic area. In some situations, particularly where they want to check for spread, a full body MRI may be done and/or as considered appropriate, a bone scan. PSMA scans are more involved and rarely used as initial scans in the UK and only a very few hospitals can provide this facility.

Barry

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