MR angiography-planned prostatic artery embolization for benign prostatic hyperplasia: single-center retrospective study in 56 patients

PURPOSEWe aimed to evaluate the advantages of magnetic resonance angiography (MRA)-planned prostatic artery embolization (PAE) for benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH).METHODSIn this retrospective study, MRAs of 56 patients (mean age, 67.23±7.73 years; age range, 47–82 years) who underwent PAE between 2017 and 2018 were evaluated. For inclusion, full information about procedure time and radiation values must have been available. To identify prostatic artery (PA) origin, three-dimensional MRA reconstruction with maximum intensity projection was conducted in every patient. In total, 33 patients completed clinical and imaging follow-up and were included in clinical evaluation.RESULTSThere were 131 PAs with a second PA in 19 pelvic sides. PA origin was correctly identified via MRA in 108 of 131 PAs (82.44%). In patients in which MRA allowed a PA analysis, a significant reduction of the fluoroscopy time (−27.0%, p = 0.028) and of the dose area product (−38.0%, p = 0.003) was detected versus those with no PA analysis prior to PAE. Intervention time was reduced by 13.2%, (p = 0.25). Mean fluoroscopy time was 30.1 min, mean dose area product 27,749 μGy·m², and mean entrance dose 1553 mGy. Technical success was achieved in all 56 patients (100.0%); all patients were embolized on both pelvic sides. The evaluated data documented a significant reduction in international prostate symptom scores (p < 0.001; mean 9.67 points).CONCLUSIONMRA prior to PAE allowed the identification of PA in 82.44% of the cases. MRA-planned PAE is an effective treatment for patients with BPH.

A profound knowledge about pelvic vessel anatomy is essential for achieving successful prostatic artery embolization (PAE), to improve the safety of PAE and to avoid major complications as non-target embolization (1–6). This knowledge can be achieved by using angiographic techniques to show pelvic artery anatomy, although the best method is still controversially discussed. In some studies, computed tomography (CT) angiography (CTA) was used for pre-interventional evaluation as it is described to have high certainty in analyzing prostatic artery (PA) anatomy (1, 3, 7). Other institutes use digital subtraction angiography (DSA) and cone beam CT (CBCT) for analysis without any pre-procedural vessel imaging (8–11). Since peri-interventional DSA findings may be ambiguous and CTA or CBCT would imply additional radiation, magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) seems to be a promising method to analyze PA origin without radiation. However, Maclean et al. (3) recommend CT for planning PAE instead of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) as the latter is more expensive and more time-consuming. Pisco et al. (5, 12) state that MRA does not have enough resolution for clear identification of PA origin and does not provide the same information as CTA.Currently only a few studies discuss the suitability of MRA for preprocedural planning of PAE. Kim et al. (13) first investigated this subject with a sample size of 17 patients and documented an accuracy of 76.5% for PA origin analysis. However, in this study no clinical evaluation was included. Zhang et al. (4) investigated MRA analysis prior to PAE in a randomized clinical trial with 100 patients. A sensitivity of 91.5% and a significant reduction of procedure time, fluoroscopy time, radiation dose, and contrast medium volume due to pre-interventional MRA were documented. In his review, Prince (14) agrees with Zhang et al. (4) that MRA may be a suitable method for planning PAE.Because of the skeptical comments whether performing MRA prior to PAE is practical on a daily basis in a radiological institution, an assessment of these parameters in a less selective nature was necessary. In addition, contrary to Zhang et al. (4) who used MIP-reconstructions and 5° interval images for their assessment, we used a three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction of the pelvic arterial tree based on the MRA sequences. The main advantage of the 3D reconstruction is that it can be freely rotated in all directions which allowed an easy identification and tracking of the PA.In this study, the advantages and clinical outcome of pre-interventional analysis of PA via MRA as a possible radiation-free planning method and its influence on procedure time and radiation dose were investigated.