Color Doppler Enhances Prostate Cancer Detection

Contrast-enhanced color Doppler targeted biopsies superior to systematic biopsies

FRIDAY, Aug. 17 (HealthDay News) -- Contrast-enhanced color Doppler targeted biopsy identifies prostate tumors with higher Gleason scores than does ultrasound-guided systematic biopsy, according to a report published in the August issue of the Journal of Urology.

Michael Mitterberger, M.D., of Medical University Innsbruck in Austria, and colleagues biopsied the prostates of 690 asymptomatic males with a serum total prostate specific antigen exceeding 1.25 ng/mL and a free-to-total prostate specific antigen ratio below 18 percent and/or a suspicious rectal examination, comparing ultrasound systematic biopsy with contrast-enhanced color Doppler targeted biopsy.

The investigators identified 221 cases (32 percent) of prostate cancer: 180 by contrast-enhanced color Doppler targeted biopsy, and 166 by systematic ultrasound biopsy. The Gleason score of the targeted biopsies was 6 or higher (mean 6.8), and 4 to 6 for systematic biopsies (mean 5.4). Though analysis by subject showed no significant difference in detection rates between the two techniques, detection rates per core sample were better with targeted biopsies (11 versus 5.7 percent for systematic biopsies).

"Our results add support to the growing body of literature that contrast-enhanced color Doppler targeted biopsy can improve the detection of prostate cancer with a limited number of biopsy cores," the authors conclude. "Contrast-enhanced biopsy techniques may allow identification of more aggressive cancers."

Abstract
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