MRI fusion biopsy. An improvement in the diagnosis of prostate carcinoma?

Magnetic resonance imaging fusion biopsy of the prostate is a diagnostic procedure for the detection of prostate carcinoma. Potential advantages cited in the literature include higher detection rates of significant carcinomas, lower detection rates of insignificant carcinomas, and more accurate preoperative determination of the index lesion. A prospective investigation was performed in a patient population of 150 patients to determine whether magnetic resonance imaging fusion biopsy is an improvement over the systematic biopsy recommended in the current S3 guidelines. Magnetic resonance imaging was fused with transrectal ultrasound images, and transrectal sampling was performed. Subsequently, in most cases, a 24-fold saturation biopsy of the prostate was performed. In the results presented, no statistically significant advantage in absolute tumor detection was demonstrated in performing either procedure compared to simply performing the saturation biopsy. Overall, the results confirm the tendency described in the literature that targeted biopsy, although not replacing systematic biopsy in diagnostics, can serve as a useful addition in diagnostics. In addition, the work suggests that the introduction of magnetic resonance imaging fusion biopsy into everyday clinical practice requires time and that radiological and surgical expertise increases over time due to a training effect.