Prospective Randomized Controlled Study: Free-Hand Transperineal vs. Transrectal Systematic and Image Fusion Targeted Biopsies Under Local Anesthesia Comparing Rate of Significant Cancer Detection and Complication Rates

Prostate cancer is a leading cause of cancer death among men in the Western world. Early detection of prostate cancer has been shown to decrease mortality. When a test for prostate cancer yields an elevated risk of prostate cancer, tissue sampling from the prostate is warranted. The common practice is to acquire these biopsies has been via transrectal biopsies under ultrasound guidance (TRUL-biopsies). A low estimate of the risk of hospital-requiring infection is 5%, yielding unnecessary and costly sepsis cases.

In addition to suffering and loss of production, as well as healthcare costs, in a material from Taiwan, the mortality risk of biopsy-induced sepsis has been estimated at 0.13%. In a publication from Norway, it is estimated that infection complications from tissue sampling of the prostate cause 10 deaths per year (population 5 million).

Previous international studies show that the risk of infection with bacteria from the gut can be completely eliminated by taking the tissue samples through the skin of the perineum, transperineal biopsies (TPb), with guidance from transrectal ultrasound. This method is well established for systematic biopsies and has been proven safe in large series.

Studies have showed how multiparametric magnetic-resonance imaging (mpMRI) of the prostate accurately can identify lesions harboring clinically significant prostate cancer (csPC, defined as ISUP Gleason Group (GG) ≥ 2)3. Prostate MRI reading and reporting according to the PI-RADS protocol is widely accepted and recommended.

The image material from the MRI can be used to produce maps of the prostate used for tissue sampling of suspected areas. This is referred to as MRI/ultrasound fusion biopsy, or targeted biopsies (TBx). Regions of interest are marked as Lesions. Several studies have shown improved cancer detection using MRI and fusion targeted biopsies in clinical-practice cohorts 5,6 78 MRI/ultrasound fusion biopsies can be performed in a variety of ways, where software assisted transrectal biopsies has gained the most attention during the last few years, earning to development of equipment more readily available to the urologist as well as a rise in the quantity and quality of prostate MRI's.