Zonal & Age-Related Differences of Prostate Spectra at 3 T

Jan Weis¹, Francisco Ortiz-Nieto¹, Hkan Ahlstrm¹

Differences in metabolite-to-Cit ratio between peripheral zone and central gland as well as age dependent changes are important factors in analysis of the prostate spectra. So far, age dependent effects have been quantified only in 1.5 T scanners. In this work, zonal and age dependences of metabolite (Cho, PA, Cr) to Cit ratio of 51 healthy volunteers were measured in 3T using surface coil and 2D MRSI. The results of this study demonstrate that zonal and age differences in metabolite-to-Cit ratio are significant and have to be considered in the interpretation of prostate spectra.