Transrectal ultrasound-guided prostate biopsy versus combined magnetic resonance imaging-ultrasound fusion and systematic biopsy for prostate cancer detection in routine clinical practice

Purpose The goal of this study was to retrospectively compare systematic ultrasound-guided prostate biopsy (US-PB) and multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging-ultrasound fusion prostate biopsy (MRI-PB) in men undergoing primary or repeated biopsies. Methods A population of 2,200 patients with a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level >4.0 ng/ dL and/or an abnormal rectal examination was divided into two groups. All patients underwent US-PB (n=1,021) or MRI-PB (n=1,179) between April 2015 and April 2019. Population demographics, including age, PSA level, digital rectal examination results, prostate volume, number of previous negative biopsies, Prostate Imaging Reporting and Data System (PI-RADS) version 2 (V2) score, and biopsy results, were acquired and compared with respect to these variables. Univariate regression analysis of the risk factors for a higher Gleason score (GS) was performed. Results The cancer detection rate (CDR) was 23.8% (243 of 1,021) in the US-PB group and 31.3% (399 of 1,179) in the MRI-PB group. Of those, 225 patients (22.0%) in the US-PB group and 374 patients (31.7%) in the MRI-PB group had clinically significant prostate cancer (csPCa). The patients with csPCa in the MRI-PB group included 10 (40%), 50 (62.5%), 184 (94.8%), and 32 (94.1%) patients with PI-RADS V2 scores of 2, 3, 4, and 5, respectively. Of the patients with csPCa, 155 (91.7%) in the US-PB group were diagnosed on the basis of the primary biopsy, compared to 308 (94.4%) in the MRI-PB group. We found the PI-RADS V2 score to be the best predictor of a higher GS. Conclusion MRI-PB showed a high CDR for csPCa. MRI-PB could be a reasonable approach in patients with high PI-RADS V2 scores at primary biopsy.