15 Mar Clinical Outcomes Following a Low-Suspicion MRI for Prostate Cancer
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Dr. Boessen
Lars Boesen MD PhD
Department of Urology
Herlev Gentofte University Hospital
Herlev
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: Transrectal ultrasound-guided biopsies (TRUS-bx) traditionally used for detecting prostate cancer (PCa) are prone to sampling errors due to difficulties in target identification. Therefore, concerns about the possibility of missing significant prostate cancer result in men with negative biopsy results frequently undergo repeated biopsies, leading to increased medical costs, patient anxiety and morbidity.
Multiparametric MRI (mp-MRI) has become increasingly important in prostate cancer diagnosis. A suspicious lesion can be targeted by MRI-guided biopsies and improve diagnosis. Conversely, a normal mp-MRI may non-invasively exclude the possibility of an aggressive disease, avoiding the need for further biopsies. However, there are no current guidelines for clinicians whether standard repeated biopsies (TRUS-bx) should be performed in men with either a low-suspicion mp-MRI or benign MRI-targeted biopsies of a suspicious lesion and the clinical outcome and future risk of detecting significant prostate cancer following these findings is unknown.
Therefore, we assessed the risk of being diagnosed with prostate cancer after either a low-suspicion mp-MRI or benign targeted biopsies of a suspicious lesion in men with prior negative TRUS-bx, but a persistent clinical suspicion of missed significant cancer over a follow-up period of at least three years. Our results suggest that a low-suspicion MRI in men with prior negative TRUS-bx can be used non-invasively in ruling out longer term significant cancer and immediate repeated biopsies are of limited clinical value and might be avoided even if prostate-specific-antigen levels are persistently elevated.
MedicalResearch.com: What should readers take away from your report?
Response: A low-suspicion mp-MRI in a man with prior negative TRUS-bx has a high accuracy in ruling out a significant aggressive prostate cancer during follow-up of at least three years. Thus, immediate repeated biopsies rarely find significant disease and could be avoided even if the prostate-specific-antigen level is persistently elevated.
MedicalResearch.com: What recommendations do you have for future research as a result of this study?
Response: Our results should be verified in larger prospective studies with a longer follow-up period to assess other clinical endpoints that include disease progression, cancer specific mortality and associated costs with an mp-MRI approach.
There are no disclosures or conflicts of interest
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Citation:
J Urol. 2017 Feb 21. pii: S0022-5347(17)30297-5. doi: 10.1016/j.juro.2017.02.073. [Epub ahead of print]
Clinical outcome following a low-suspicion multiparametric prostate MRI or benign MRI-guided biopsy to detect prostate cancer: A follow-up study in men with prior negative transrectal ultrasound-guided biopsies.
Boesen L1, Nørgaard N2, Løgager V3, Thomsen HS4.
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Last Updated on March 15, 2017 by Marie Benz MD FAAD