title: Magnetic resonance microscopy may enable distinction between normal histomorphological features and prostate cancer in the resected prostate gland.
abstract: To determine imaging protocol parameters for characterization of prostate tissue at histological length scales.
  
  
  
  Rapid acquisition with relaxation enhancement, spin echo and gradient echo fast low angle shot data were acquired using ex vivo 3-Tesla or 7-Tesla magnetic field strengths from fresh prostatectomy specimens (n = 15) obtained from either organ donor or patients with prostate cancer (PCa). To achieve the closest correspondence between histopathological components and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) results, in terms of resolution and sectioning planes, multiple high-resolution imaging protocols (ranging from a few minutes to overnight) were tested. Ductograms were generated as part of image post-processing. Specimens were subsequently submitted for histopathological evaluation.
  
  
  
  A total of seven imaging protocols were tested. Ex vivo 7-Tesla MRI identified normal components of prostate glands, including ducts, blood vessels, concretions and stroma at a spatial resolution of 60 × 60 × 60 μm3to 107 × 107 × 500 μm3. Malignant glands and nests of tumour cells identified at 60 × 60 × 90 μm3were highly similar to low-magnification (×2) histopathology. Ductograms enhanced the differentiation between benign and malignant glands. The results of the present study were encouraging, and further work is warranted with a larger sample size.
  
  
  
  We showed that critical histopathological features of the prostate gland can be identified with high-resolution ex vivo MRI examination and this offers promise that MRI microscopy of PCa will ultimately be possible in vivo.
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Institute of Prostate Cancer and Lefrak Center for Robotic Surgery, Weill Medical College of Cornell University, New York, NY, USA.|Department of Urology, Hôpital Pasteur 2, CHU Nice, University of Nice-Sophia-Antipolis, Nice, France.|INSERM, U1189, ONCO-THAI, Lille, France.
authors.forename: Matthieu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Durand
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology and, Weill Medical College of Cornell University, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Manu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jain
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology and, Weill Medical College of Cornell University, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Brian
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Robinson
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Weill Medical College of Cornell University, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Eric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Aronowitz
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Institute of Prostate Cancer and Lefrak Center for Robotic Surgery, Weill Medical College of Cornell University, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Youssef
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: El Douahy
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Institute of Prostate Cancer and Lefrak Center for Robotic Surgery, Weill Medical College of Cornell University, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Leung
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Institute of Prostate Cancer and Lefrak Center for Robotic Surgery, Weill Medical College of Cornell University, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Douglas S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Scherr
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Weill Medical College of Cornell University, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Amelia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ng
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Hôpital Pasteur 2, CHU Nice, University of Nice-Sophia-Antipolis, Nice, France.
authors.forename: Dominique
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-9551-5696
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Donzeau
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Hôpital Pasteur 2, CHU Nice, University of Nice-Sophia-Antipolis, Nice, France.
authors.forename: Jean
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Amiel
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Weill Medical College of Cornell University, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Pascal
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Spincemaille
authors.affiliation: INSERM, U1189, ONCO-THAI, Lille, France.|Department of Urology, Hôpital Claude Huriez, CHU Lille, Université de Lille, Lille, France.
authors.forename: Arnauld
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Villers
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Weill Medical College of Cornell University, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Douglas J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Ballon
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008853:Microscopy / Q000379:methods; D011467:Prostate / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D011468:Prostatectomy; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery
keywords: clinical pathology; cross-sectional anatomy; high-field MRI; prostate specimens; prostatic hyperplasia; prostatic neoplasms