The incidence of prostate cancer is increasing day by day. Technological diagnosis methods such as prostate fusion biopsy method are very efficient in treatment. In the past biopsies were obtained blindly from prostate gland. However, thanks to prostate fusion biopsy method, only suspicious tissues detected through MR screening are biopsied. In this way, doctors can make more true diagnosis and plan the treatment more efficiently.

Today, diagnostic efficiency of the standard prostate diagnosis method is limited. In the method comparing biopsy series with autopsy series, diagnosis chance is 50%. For this reason, 1 of 3 patients has to be biopsied again in five years after the first biopsy and tumour is detected in 13% to 41% of these patients. To overcome this type of problems, biopsies with additional samplings are recommended. However, wrong tumour diagnosis risk is high in this method, so is the unnecessary treatment risk.

MR-TRUS Fusion Biopsy, target-specific biopsy method used by Liv Hospital, is one of the most important and recent developments in this field. The main concept behind MR / TRUS fusion technology is to use both imaging methods thereby combining the advantages of MR with the advantages of real-time ultrasound imaging.

How is it performed?

First, MR imaging is performed to define the location of tumour and prostate size. Then, this information is sent electronically to biopsy treatment. The method varies device to device but basically 3D ultrasound examination is performed and this data is combined with MR screening data. Aligned MR and ultrasound examination data is used during biopsy to guide the needle.

What are the advantages of this method?

In the past biopsies were obtained blindly from prostate gland. However, thanks to this method biopsied are performed after lesion locations are detected. In this way, this method increases the likelihood of detecting lesions that cannot be detected with blind biopsy, thereby preventing delays in treatment.