Objective: The purpose of this article is to review the roles that MRI is expected to play in emerging minimally invasive focal ablative therapies for prostate cancer.
Conclusion: MRI, in combination with biopsy, will impact patient selection for focal ablation by helping to localize clinically significant tumor foci. Also, some ablation procedures may be performed using real-time MRI guidance. In addition, MRI may be used for assessment of extent of necrosis shortly after therapy and for long-term surveillance for recurrent tumor.