Free-hand transperineal prostate biopsy provides acceptable cancer detection and minimizes risk of infection: evolving experience with a 10-sector template.

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES

Free-hand transperineal prostate (fTP-Bx) biopsy offers an alternative to transrectal prostate biopsy (TRUS-Bx) in the diagnosis of prostate cancer. Our objectives were to determine whether fTP-Bx achieves cancer detection rates comparable to historic TRUS-Bx cohorts; to determine infectious and other complications associated with fTP-B; and to propose a standardized fTP-Bx template.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

We present a single institution, retrospective review of fTP-Bx in 1,000 men with elevated prostate-specific antigen, abnormal digital rectal examination, or on an active surveillance protocol. A fan-like biopsy scheme was used in 883 patients. A 10-sector prostate biopsy template was developed for use in the final 117 patients. The primary outcome was detection of any cancer and detection of clinically significant cancer (Grade Group ≥ 2). Secondary outcomes included procedural specifics and complications. Chi Square and Mann-Whitney U were used for analysis of categorical and continuous variables, respectively.

RESULTS

The median age of the cohort was 68 (interquartile range 61-74) years, and the median prostate-specific antigen was 7.9 (interquartile range 5.5-11.9) ng/ml. Total cancer (60.7%) and clinically significant cancer (40.3%) detection for fTP-Bx were comparable to those reported for TRUS-Bx. Detection of any cancer (70.9% vs. 59.3%, P < 0.01) and clinically significant cancer (51.3% vs. 38.9%, P = 0.01) was higher using the 10-sector biopsy template relative to the fan-like pattern. No patients were hospitalized for sepsis and no culture-proven urinary tract infections were diagnosed.

CONCLUSION

Cancer detection rates using fTP-Bx are comparable to TRUS-Bx, and fTP-Bx nearly eliminates the risk of infection. We propose a 10-sector biopsy template for fTP-Bx that easily translates to established MRI prostate sector maps for use in clinical care and future research studies exploring the efficacy of MRI-guided fTP-Bx.