COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY OF THE PROSTATE

INITIAL CLINICAL TRIAL WITH ACTA SCANNER

Abstract

For detailed evaluation of prostatic gland, various means are under use. However, all of them have their advantages and disadvantages. Recently, computed tomography is available for clinical use. We tried it on the prostatic gland using ACTA scanner which permits study of all body parts, and were able to get clear images of the glands.
A total of 27 cases were studied as of April, 1977. Among these cases, the clinical diagnoses included benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) with or withour prostatitis, carcinoma of the prostate (CaP) and bladder neck contracture (BnC). Since we have a small number of cases which were examined with the ACTA scanner, sufficient analyses of these scans could not be performed at this time.
Generally, prostatic regions were clearly delineated by this device. In the cases of BPH without prostatitis, prostatic glands were shown as enlarged, homogeneous masses with smooth margins, and low density areas corresponding to the urethra were located in the center of the glands. However, in CaP and BPH with prostatitis, the margins were shown as irregular and rough. The areas of prostatic glands resected transurethrally were shown clearly in the CT images.
The computed tomography of the prostatic glands may be considered to be useful method for diagnosis of prostatic diseases.