[Diagnostic accuracy of prostate needle biopsies in cancer of the prostate]

The carcinoma of the prostate can be diagnosed with high certainty in needle biopsy. Among 450 cases only one false diagnosis was found. Under routine diagnostic conditions, semiquantitative evaluation showed that 50% of the investigated morphological parameters in carcinomas of the prostate can be reproduced by one and the same or different investigators with a sufficiently high degree of certainty. Comparison between needle biopsy and transurethral resection material showed that the overall coincidence of tumor classification (according to the predominant part of tumor) was only 50%. The authors conclude that tumor therapy should not predominantly be based on morphology present in a single needle biopsy.