Effect of 5-Alpha Reductase Inhibitors on Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Prostate Cancer Detection

Concerns exist regarding the effects of 5-alpha reductase inhibitors (5-ARIs) on multipa-rametric magnetic resonance imaging (mpMRI) and clinically significant prostate cancer (csPCa) detection. Our objective is to analyze the effect of 5-ARI on the prostate imaging-reporting and data system (PI-RADS) distribution and csPCa and insignificant PCa (iPCa) detection. Among 2212 men with serum prostate-specific antigen levels of >3.0 ng/mL and/or suspicious digital rectal examinations who underwent mpMRI and targeted and/or systematic biopsies, 120 individuals exposed to 5-ARI treatment for over a year were identified. CsPCa was defined when the grade group (GG) was >2. The overall csPCa and iPCa detection rates were 44.6% and 18.8%, respectively. Since logistic regression revealed independent predictors of PCa, a randomized matched group of 236 individuals was selected for analysis. The PI-RADS distribution was comparable with 5-ARI exposure (p 0.685). The CsPCa detection rates in 5-ARI-naïve men and 5-ARI-exposed men were 52.6% and 47.4%, respectively (p 0.596). IPCa was detected in 37.6 and 62.5%, respectively (p 0.089). The tumor GG distribution based on 5-ARI exposure was similar (p 0.149) to the rates of csPCa and iPCa across the PI-RADS categories. We conclude that exposure to 5-ARI in suspected PCa men did not change the PI-RADS distribution and the csPCa and iPCa detection rates.