Prostate cancer remains the most frequently diagnosed malignancy in men and a leading cause of cancer-related mortality. Multiparametric MRI (mpMRI) has become the gold standard for non-invasive diagnosis, staging, and follow-up. Yet, its widespread adoption is hampered by long acquisition times, inter-reader variability, and interpretative complexity. Though most papers focus on specific applications without offering a cohesive therapeutic perspective, artificial intelligence (AI) has recently attracted attention as a potential solution to these shortcomings. For instance, deep learning models can help optimize imaging protocols for biparametric and multiparametric MRI, and AI-based reconstruction techniques have shown promise for reducing acquisition times without sacrificing diagnostic performance. Several systems have produced outcomes in the diagnostic phase that are comparable to those of skilled radiologists, as demonstrated in multicenter settings such as PI-CAI. Radiomics and radiogenomics provide more detailed insights into the biology of the disease by extracting quantitative features associated with tumor aggressiveness, extracapsular expansion, and treatment response, in addition to detection. Despite these developments, methodological variability, a lack of multicenter validation, proprietary algorithms, and unresolved standardization and governance difficulties continue to restrict clinical translation. Our work emphasizes the maturity of existing technologies, ongoing gaps, and the progressive integration necessary for successful clinical adoption by presenting AI applications aligned with the patient pathway. In this context, this review aims to outline how AI can support the entire patient journey—from acquisition and protocol selection to detection, quantitative analysis, treatment assessment, and follow-up—while maintaining a clinically centered perspective that emphasizes practical relevance over theoretical discussion, potentially enabling more reliable, effective, and customized patient care in the field of prostate cancer.
Pellegrino et al. (Thu,) studied this question.