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Updated: Aug 13, 2026
Transperineal Prostate Biopsy Using a Cone-shaped Double-hole Method with Dual-plane Probe Guidance
Published on: June 6, 2025
Sensitivity and detection rate of a 12-core trans-perineal prostate biopsy: preliminary report
Bernardo Rocco1, Ottavio de Cobelli, Maria Elena Leon
1Division of Urology, European Institute of Oncology, Via Ripamonti 435, 20141 Milan, Italy. bernardo.rocco@ieo.it
Objectives:
The various prostate biopsy methods are usually compared in terms of the diagnosis rate of prostate cancer. However, the prevalence of cancer in patients with a negative prostatic biopsy is not usually known. We determined the sensitivity and detection rate of 12-core transperineal biopsies in patients not previously investigated for prostate cancer.
Methods:
We performed prostate biopsy in 63 patients (median age 67 years) before radical cystoprostatectomy for high-grade bladder cancer. We then assessed the relationships between biopsy result, prostate cancer in the surgical specimen, and other variables.
Results:
17.2% of patients had a positive biopsy and 54% had prostate cancer on definitive histology. Biopsy sensitivity was 32.3% overall, 75% for clinically significant cancers, and 11% for non-significant cancers. Median PSA was 1.2ng/ml, PSA levels did not correlate with the presence of prostate cancer, the presence of clinically significant cancer, bioptic diagnosis, or prostate volume. Age correlated with risk of cancer.
Conclusions:
According to autopsy series, the prevalence of prostate cancer is greater than 50% in males older than 60, yet low PSA levels do not reliably indicate disease absence. The sensitivity of double sextant biopsy is unsatisfactory overall (32%), but acceptable (75%) for diagnosing clinically significant cancer.
