Study finds MRI fusion biopsy superior for detecting prostate cancer Dr. David B Samadi

Dr David Samadi comments on a study finding MRI fusion biopsy outperforming standard prostate biopsy in patients with a prior negative prostate biopsy.

Detecting prostate cancer can be difficult.  It grows very slowly and men will not know they have it as there are no outward signs of a lump. However research from the University of Cincinnati found that MRI fusion biopsy – coupling MRI and ultrasound to visualize suspicious lesions in the prostate gland and targeting the biopsy to that particular area – exceeded standard prostate biopsy in men who had a negative prostate biopsy prior.

“This study has led to a new standard of care when men are screened for prostate cancer,” stated Dr. David Samadi. “What this means for the future is it could lead to more efficient practices, helping save time and money in addition to improving the timelines of diagnosis for patients.”

 Dr. Samadi went on to say, “Prostate cancer has limited warning signs giving it the reputation of a silent killer. There are several ways to detect prostate cancer but you want the best most advanced technique available giving a high degree of an accurate diagnosis and staging of the cancer.”

Traditionally, when a man presents with suspicion of having prostate cancer, the standard method for diagnosis has been to collect 12 samples from the prostate or saturation which is collecting 20-40 samples from the prostate. The problem with these methods is it can lead to overdiagnosis of clinically insignificant cancer or prostate cancer that does not require treatment.  But, it can also lead to underdiagnosis or showing a high-false negative rate of clinically significant prostate cancer or cancer that does require treatment.  In other words, the traditional biopsy could read it negative for cancer when there really is a malignancy.

“It is always a challenge when a patient is suspected of having prostate cancer yet they have a negative prostate biopsy,” explained Dr. Samadi. “Typically what happens are about 38 percent of these men will have to have a repeat biopsy or more within a few years.  This adds up in increased medical costs, delaying the diagnosis and during this time, if the man really does have prostate cancer, it will have time to progress.”

This research is one of the largest studies looking at 779 men, each with a history of one or more negative biopsies who also underwent MRI biopsy fusion.  The average of the men was 63.  Out of these men, 346 (44 percent) were found to have prostate cancer and the clinically significant cancer detection rate was 30.7 percent with fusion biopsy detecting 26.3 percent (205 cases) and systemic biopsy detecting only 4.4 percent (34 cases).

“More and more, MRI fusion biopsy is an excellent tool for helping physicians identify clinically significant cancers,” exclaimed Dr. Samadi. “When compared to other methods, MRI fusion biopsy’s accuracy outperforms detecting a higher proportion of cancers that are clinically significant when compared to standard biopsy. To me, this makes MRI fusion biopsy a superior method for finding prostate cancer. Anytime we can diagnosis prostate cancer as early as possible, is a win-win for avoiding unnecessary biopsies, saving money and time, and best of all, improves our patient’s quality of life.”

Patients newly diagnosed with prostate cancer can contact world renowned prostate cancer surgeon and urologic oncologist, Dr. David Samadi, for a free phone consultation and to learn more about prostate cancer risk, call 212-365-5000.