There is ongoing discussion whether a multivariable approach including magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can safely prevent unnecessary protocol-advised repeat biopsy during active surveillance (AS).
To determine predictors for grade group (GG) reclassification in patients undergoing an MRI-informed prostate biopsy (MRI-Bx) during AS and to evaluate whether a confirmatory biopsy can be omitted in patients diagnosed with upfront MRI.
The Prostate cancer Research International: Active Surveillance (PRIAS) study is a multicenter prospective study of patients on AS (www.prias-project.org). We selected all patients undergoing MRI-Bx (targeted ± systematic biopsy) during AS.
A time-dependent Cox regression analysis was used to determine the predictors of GG progression/reclassification in patients undergoing MRI-Bx. A sensitivity analysis and a multivariable logistic regression analysis were also performed.
A total of 1185 patients underwent 1488 MRI-Bx sessions. The time-dependent Cox regression analysis showed that age (per 10 yr, hazard ratio [HR] 0.84 [95% confidence interval {CI} 0.71-0.99]), MRI outcome (Prostate Imaging Reporting and Data System [PIRADS] 3 vs negative HR 2.46 [95% CI 1.56-3.88], PIRADS 4 vs negative HR 3.39 [95% CI 2.28-5.05], and PIRADS 5 vs negative HR 4.95 [95% CI 3.25-7.56]), prostate-specific antigen (PSA) density (per 0.1 ng/ml cm3, HR 1.20 [95% CI 1.12-1.30]), and percentage positive cores on the last systematic biopsy (per 10%, HR 1.16 [95% CI 1.10-1.23]) were significant predictors of GG reclassification. Of the patients with negative MRI and a PSA density of <0.15 ng/ml cm3 (n = 315), 3% were reclassified to GG ≥2 and 0.6% to GG ≥3. At the confirmatory biopsy, reclassification to GG ≥2 and ≥3 was observed in 23% and 7% of the patients diagnosed without upfront MRI and in 19% and 6% of the patients diagnosed with upfront MRI, respectively. The multivariable analysis showed no significant difference in upgrading at the confirmatory biopsy between patients diagnosed with or without upfront MRI.
Age, MRI outcome, PSA density, and percentage positive cores are significant predictors of reclassification at an MRI-informed biopsy. Patients with negative MRI and a PSA density of <0.15 ng/ml cm3 can safely omit a protocol-based prostate biopsy, whereas in other patients, a multivariable approach is advised. Being diagnosed with upfront MRI appears not to significantly affect reclassification risk; hence, a confirmatory MRI-Bx cannot totally be omitted yet.
A protocol-based prostate biopsy while on active surveillance can be omitted in patients with negative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and prostate-specific antigen density <0.15 ng/ml cm3. A confirmatory biopsy cannot simply be omitted in all patients diagnosed with upfront MRI.
European urology oncology. 2022 Apr 15 [Epub ahead of print]
Henk Benjamin Luiting, Sebastiaan Remmers, Egbert R Boevé, Riccardo Valdagni, Peter K Chiu, Axel Semjonow, Viktor Berge, Karl H Tully, Antti S Rannikko, Frédéric Staerman, Monique J Roobol
Department of Urology, Erasmus MC Cancer Institute, Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Electronic address: ., Department of Urology, Erasmus MC Cancer Institute, Rotterdam, the Netherlands., Department of Urology, Franciscus Hospital, Rotterdam, the Netherlands., Prostate Cancer Program, Department of Radiation Oncology 1, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy., Department of Surgery, SH Ho Urology Centre, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China., Department of Urology, Prostate Center, University Clinic Münster, Münster, Germany., Department of Urology, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway., Department of Urology, Marien Hospital Herne, Ruhr-University Bochum, Herne, Germany., Department of Urology, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, Finland., Department of Urology, Polyclinique Reims-Bezannes, Bezannes, France.