Is The Prostate Cancer Biopsy An Effective Diagnostic Tool? - By: Don Saunders

Despite the fact that there are a variety of different tests that may be carried out if you suspect the possible presence of prostate cancer, the only sure way to detect the disease is through a prostate biopsy. But exactly how efficient is the biopsy at confirming this condition?

In the United States alone each year there are in the region of 1,000,000 prostate biopsy procedures undertaken of which about 25 percent indicate the existence of prostate cancer. Of the other 75 percent of prostate biopsies however roughly one-third also show false negative results. This means that about 25 percent of all men having a prostate biopsy are being cleared by their biopsy, notwithstanding the fact that they actually have prostate cancer.

On the surface therefore it may appear that the prostate biopsy is not a very efficient test but the results do not demonstrate that there is anything wrong with the biopsy as a tool for confirming prostate cancer. What it does clearly mean however is that there is a need to identify those individuals who, in spite of they have returned a negative result, are nevertheless at high risk from prostate cancer and ought therefore to undergo a second follow-up biopsy.

The problem is that until now there has not been an easy method of identifying those patients who are at risk. However, a study of over 500 patients being investigated for prostate cancer may now provide a solution.

All of the individuals investigated in the study had previously had a negative prostate biopsy result but researchers found that when they looked at the men's prostate specific antigen test results and adjusted these for the size of the prostate gland they could identify those individuals who were more likely to receive a positive result on a second biopsy.

Additionally, the researchers noted that men with a Gleeson score of 7 or above were at greater risk from life-threatening prostate cancer and were once again more likely to receive a positive result from a further biopsy. The Gleeson score runs on a scale from 2 to 10 and a patient's score is calculated from a laboratory investigation of prostate biopsy tissue. Low scores show a cancer with a small risk of spread while a high score points to a cancer that is far more likely to spread.

There are a variety of different prostate biopsy procedures in use today although possibly the most often used procedure is known as the core needle biopsy. Here a number of tiny samples of tissue are removed from different sections of the prostrate gland with a biopsy gun that fires a needle into the chosen area and removes the sample in a fraction of a second. The samples collected are then sent off for microscopic examination to reveal whether or not cancer is present and, if so, to estimate exactly how much of the prostate gland is affected.

A prostate biopsy is not a cheap procedure and is one that can also be relatively nerve-racking for the patient. It can also be a quite painful procedure that may involve bleeding and a risk of infection. As a result it is important to pinpoint those patients for whom a follow-up biopsy is advisable and to reduce as far as possible the number of unnecessary follow-up biopsies being done each year.

About the Author

ProstateProblemCenter.com provides information on everything from sex after prostate biopsy to the therapeutic use of prostate milking

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