Clinical value of core length in contemporary multicore prostate biopsy

There is little data about the clinical value of core length for prostate biopsy (PBx). We investigated the clinical values of various clinicopathological biopsy-related parameters, including core length, in the contemporary multi-core PBx.

Medical records of 5,243 consecutive patients who received PBx at our institution were reviewed. Among them, 3,479 patients with prostate-specific antigen (PSA) ≤ 10 ng/ml level who received transrectal ultrasound (TRUS)-guided multi (≥ 12)-core PBx at our institution were analyzed for prostate cancer (PCa). Gleason score upgrading (GSU) was analyzed in 339 patients who were diagnosed with low-risk PCa and received radical prostatectomy. Multivariate logistic regression analyses for PCa detection and prediction of GSU were performed.

The mean age and PSA of the entire cohort were 63.5 years and 5.4 ng/ml, respectively. The overall cancer detection rate was 28.5%. There was no statistical difference in core length between patients diagnosed with PCa and those without PCa (16.1 ± 1.8 vs 16.1 ± 1.9 mm, P = 0.945). The core length was also not significantly different (16.4 ± 1.7 vs 16.4 ± 1.6mm, P = 0.889) between the GSU group and non-GSU group. Multivariate logistic regression analyses demonstrated that the core length of PBx did not affect PCa detection in TRUS-guided multi-core PBx (P = 0.923) and was not prognostic for GSU in patients with low-risk PCa (P = 0.356).

In patients undergoing contemporary multi-core PBx, core length may not have significant impact on PCa detection and also GSU following radical prostatectomy among low-risk PCa group.