Is systematic sextant biopsy suitable for the detection of clinically significant prostate cancer?

Background: The optimal extent of the prostate biopsy remains controversial. There is a need to avoid detection of insignificant cancer but not to miss significant and curable tumors. In alternative treatments of prostate cancer, repeated sextant biopsies are used to estimate the response. The aim of this study was to investigate the reliability of a repeated systematic sextant biopsy as the standard biopsy technique in patients with significant tumors which are being considered for curative treatment. Methods: Systematic sextant biopsy was performed in vitro in 92 radical prostatectomy specimens. Of these patients, 81 (88.0%) had palpable lesions. Results: Of the 92 investigated patients, 70 (76.1%) had potentially curable pT2-3pN0 prostate cancers. In these patients, the cancer was detected only in 72.9% of cases by a repeated in vitro biopsy. In the pT2 tumors, there was a detection rate of only 66.7%. Conclusions: This study underlines the fact that a considerable number of significant and potentially curable tumors remain undetected by the conventional sextant biopsy. A negative sextant biopsy does not rule out significant prostate cancer. Copyright (C) 2000 S. Karger AG, Basel.