Help needed in understanding the findings of an MRI report.

[Pcnmyy]

Friends,

I have just received the report of an MRI scan with & Without contrast that I had on 10-26-2022. The report stated the following in the Prostate/Seminal Vesicles section:

"The prostate gland is diminutive in size, diffusely T2 hypointense and decreased in size since 2019. No obvious findings of extraprostatic extension of disease.

What does "diffusely T2 hypointense" mean?

Thank you for your help.

[cesces]

I will defer to my betters here.

But it sounds like you have a small prostate and they are assigning the cause to androgen deprivation therapy.

[Pcnmyy in reply to cesces]

Thank you for your response. I also understood that my prostate is much smaller than it was when I was diagnosed with PC in 2019.

I am wondering, though, about the phrase "diffusely T2 hypointense" if it describes a status or a type of PC that resulted from being on ADT for almost 3 years. Any thoughts? Thanks.

[cesces in reply to Pcnmyy]

I think t2 is a type of reading of testosterone

[tsim in reply to cesces]

It is not. It refers to the portion of the pulse sequence that is read back during the scan. It is the transverse as opposed to the longitudinal relaxation time of the precessing protons

[cesces in reply to tsim]

I stand corrected. Thank you

[NecessarilySo]

I found this: teacherscollegesj.org/what-... I think it means that the tumor is darker and therefore less likely malignant.

[tsim in reply to NecessarilySo]

In general yes, the T2 intensity is also used in part to determine PIRADS score

[Pcnmyy in reply to NecessarilySo]

Thank you so much for the link and I hope you are right that the tumor had turned less malignant than before. I'll see my Oncologist on Nov. 8th to discuss the findings of the . Thanks.

[tsim]

Well, seems to be sort of good news. The portion of the RF pulse sequence that is read back (the T2 or transverse weighted time) indicates a diffusely(spread over the gland) lower intensity than previous scans.

[Pcnmyy in reply to tsim]

Thank you so much for your response, clarification, and positive prediction. The report also indicated that the enlarged lymph nodes in the Pelvis and Abdomen became normal which is inline with your good news prediction. I'll confirm the findings with my oncologist on Nov. 8th. Many thanks.