BERKELEY, CA (UroToday.com) - Since the inception of prostate biopsies by Hodge, et al., urologists have been striving to perfect the technique.
Advancements in equipment as well as technical advancements have helped in amplifying prostate cancer detection. With doing so we have raised the question of whether we are diagnosing clinically irrelevant prostate cancer.
Our study contributes a novel method of performing prostate biopsies. We argue for a personalized approach to prostate biopsies by individualizing the number of cores performed based on the patient’s prostate size. A ratio of 3.5 grams per core will allow for optimum cancer detection while not oversampling the prostate.
One limitation of our study is the ratio is limited to prostate size of less than 100 grams. Future prospective studies will be needed to validate the above findings.
Written by:
John P. Sfakianos, MD as part of Beyond the Abstract on UroToday.com. This initiative offers a method of publishing for the professional urology community. Authors are given an opportunity to expand on the circumstances, limitations etc... of their research by referencing the published abstract.
UroToday.com Prostate Cancer Section