Transrectal ultrasound-guided 10-core biopsy of the prostate for Japanese patients

To determine the utility of transrectal ultrasound (TRUS)-guided 10-core prostate biopsy (sextant plus 4 far lateral cores) for Japanese patients, we compared it with the standard sextant for detection of prostate cancer. The study patients were 564 consecutive Japanese men (median age 71 years) who underwent 10-core biopsy because of PSA values of > or = 2.0 ng/ml at Hiroshima University Hospital between March 2000 and December 2004. The overall cancer detection rate for the 10-core biopsy was 42.6% (240/564), which was significantly higher than the 36.3% (205/564) for the standard sextant biopsy (P=0.0330), with a 14.6% (35/240) improvement. The 10-core biopsy also detected a significant number of additional cancers in the sub-groups of patients with PSA values of 2 to approximately 10 ng/ml (P=0.0275), a prostate volume of > 20 cc (P=0.0440), or normal findings of digital rectal examination (P=0.0304). The 10-core biopsy scheme detected 9.6% and 2.1 to approximately 8.3% more cancers than the lateral sextant (apex, lateral mid portion, and lateral base) and the probable different combinations of 8-core biopsy designs, respectively. Compared to the standard sextant biopsy, the 10-core biopsy did not detect an increased proportion of clinically insignificant cancers. There was no severe morbidity, and only 2 patients (0.4%) were briefly hospitalized due to high fever. These results show that the TRUS-guided 10-core biopsy yields a better prostate cancer detection rate than the 6-core or 8-core protocol without severe complications. Therefore, it seems to be practicable for Japanese patients.