Gray-scale transrectal ultrasonography (TRUS) alone has a limited potential to detect prostate cancer, particularly in patients with total PSA levels below 20 ng/mL, researchers reported in the Journal of Medical Imaging and Radiation Oncology (2008;52:24-28).
Researchers at Ege University Hospital in Izmir, Turkey, divided 830 men who underwent TRUS-guided biopsy of the prostate into three groups according to serum total PSA. Group I, II, and III included men with tPSA of 4.0-9.9, 10-19.9, and 20 ng/mL or more, respectively.
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TRUS findings enabled the correct identification of 22 (56%) of the 39 cancers in group I, 28 (30%) of the 93 cancers in group II, and 135 (85%) of the 159 cancers in group III.
“Therefore,” the authors concluded, “increased numbers of systemically placed biopsy cores must be taken or alternative imaging methods are required to direct TRUS-guided biopsy for improving prostate cancer detection.”
