MRI Screening and MRI/US Fusion-Guided Transperineal Biopsy in Detecting Prostate Cancer

Systematic biopsy plays a vital role in diagnosing prostate cancer, but it can lead to misdiagnoses or undertreatment. Advances in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and its guided targeting technology provide the possibility of improving the use of biopsies. This study aimed to evaluate the performance of MRI screening and MRI/ultrasound (MRI/US) fusion-guided transperineal biopsy in the detection of prostate cancer.

We performed a retrospective study on patients with suspected prostate cancer in the Kunshan Hospital Affiliated with Jiangsu University from January 2017 to December 2019. All of the patients underwent MRI examinations, followed by a systematic biopsy (either alone or in combination with MRI/US fusion-guided targeted biopsy, based on MRI-visible lesions). We evaluated the diagnostic accuracy of MRI screening and compared biopsy methods by considering sensitivity, specificity, and area under the curve (AUC) values.

A total of 157 patients were enrolled, including 112 patients with MRI-visible lesions and 45 patients without MRI-visible lesions. The cancer detection rate (CDR) was higher in patients with MRI-visible lesions (P < 0.001); however, the serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA) indicators were similar (P > 0.05). The AUC of MRI was 0.63, which was superior to the AUC values of ultrasound (AUC = 0.55, P = 0.031) and digital rectal examination (AUC = 0.52, P = 0.041) for screening prostate cancer. Both overall CDR and clinically significant prostate cancer detection rates were improved if we combined systematic biopsy and MRI/US fusion-guided targeted biopsy procedures.

Overall, prior MRI screening may serve as a classifier for avoiding the overuse of biopsies. A combination of systematic and MRI/US fusion-guided targeted biopsy procedures offers an optimal regimen for detecting prostate cancer.