Creation of an Image Database for the Development of a Computer Aided Diagnostic (CAD) System in Patients With Prostate Cancer (Echo-CAD)

Prostate cancer is currently detected by ultrasound-guided biopsy. Computer-aided diagnostic (CAD) systems based on multiparametric MRI are now capable of detecting most aggressive cancer foci non-invasively, but additional progress is needed for the technique to be accepted in clinical practice. We hypothesize that combining MRI and ultrasound imaging can improve the detection of cancerous tumors. As a first step in this direction, we need to create a database with MR images, 3D ultrasound images, and corresponding histopathology results, in patients treated by radical prostatectomy for prostate cancer. This is the purpose of the present study.

In a later stage (outside the scope of this study), we will be learning how to combine these images to best recognize cancerous tumors, we will use that knowledge to develop a new CAD system, and we will assess the performance of the new CAD. We expect this future system to improve the detection of prostate cancer and to reduce the number of patients requiring biopsy.