Detection Rate of Clinically Insignificant Prostate Cancer Increases with Repeating Prostate Biopsies

    April 2012 in “ The Journal of Urology ”
    Bumsoo Park, Ji Hyun Ahn, Jung Hun Kang, Sin-Woo Lee, Hyun Hwan Sung, Hyung Joon Kim, Bong Hee Park, Byong Chang Jeong, Seong Il Seo, Hyun Moo Lee, Han Yong Choi, Seong Soo Jeon
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    TLDR More prostate biopsies increase the chance of finding cancers that may not need treatment.
    The study retrospectively analyzed 2,225 men who had undergone transrectal ultrasound-guided prostate biopsies between 1994 and 2011, finding that the detection rate of clinically insignificant prostate cancer (CIPC) increased with the number of biopsies: 10.9% for one biopsy, 19.6% for two, and 23.1% for three, with a statistically significant difference (P < 0.001). Repeat biopsies were identified as independent predictors for detecting CIPC. The conclusion was that multiple biopsies raise the likelihood of diagnosing CIPC, necessitating careful patient counseling about the risks of overdiagnosis and overtreatment, as well as the possibility of missing significant cancers.
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