Prostate cancer: A challenge for screening.

Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer related death in men over the age of 50 in the United States today. The serum prostate specific antigen has the highest predictive value of any diagnostic test for prostate cancer. Highly screened communities have realized an impressive downward stage migration, younger average age at detection, and an improved five-year survival rate. These improvements are necessary components for any successful screening program.

Three-dimensional reconstruction of anatomic structures using serial sectional images.

Precise three-dimensional modeling and visualization of human anatomy and pathology are important in medicine. Three-dimensional models have applications in the training of medical students and residents and aid physicians evaluate and determine appropriate clinical management of patients. Three-dimensional reconstructions of radiographic images have been available for some time now. However, electronic reconstruction of these images often requires the utilization of large computer systems or workstations and also requires highly trained and specialized technicians to perform the task. This paper presents a technique for precise three-dimensional reconstruction of the human anatomy and pathology using an 80486 IBM compatible personal computer and commercially available software. We reconstructed the images from computed tomography scans. Implementation of this technique does not require extensive training and shows good results after a short learning curve.