Objective: To explore the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) manifestations of early prostatic carcinoma (PCa) in central zone (CZ) .
Methods: A total of 284 cases of PCa were scanned by MRI while 24 cases of carcinoma in 28 PCa focus were in central zone. Their T1WI, T2WI, DWI and ADC value characteristics were analyzed respectively and the completeness of annular low signal between central and peripheral zones were observed. At the same time, 45 cases of PCa were located in peripheral zone (PZ) . Twenty cases of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) were comparatively analyzed. All cases received a histological diagnosis.
Results: Most cases of early PCa in CZ demonstrated ill-defined margin, amorphous shape and equal signal intensity on T1WI, low signal intensity on T2WI and high signal intensity on DWI. The mean ADC value for PCa focus was (0.867 ± 0.074)×10(-3) mm(2)/s and PCa foci were enhanced slightly. In these cases, most annular low signals between CZ and PZ were destroyed. The difference of ADC values between PCa in CZ and PZ groups ((0.914 ± 0.066) ×10(-3) mm(2)/s ) had no statistic significance (P > 0.05) , but the ADC values between PCa and BPH in CZ groups ((1.517 ± 0.315) ×10(-3) mm(2)/s ) had statistically significant difference (P < 0.05).
Conclusion: Some reliable diagnostic characteristics on MRI may be used for an early diagnosis of PCa in CZ.