Evaluation of Initial 24-core Transrectal Prostate Biopsy on the Detection of Significant Prostate Cancer and High-grade Prostatic Intraepithelial Neoplasia

Abstract Purpose: The purpose of the study was to assess the diagnostic value of an initial 24-sample transrectal ultrasound-guided (TRUS) prostate biopsy protocol compared to the 10-core technique. Materials and Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the prostate biopsy database of consecutive men undergoing prostate biopsies under local anesthesia using the 10 (Group A) and 24 (Group B) protocols. Men were stratified according to biopsy protocol and prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels. Exclusion criteria were age = 75 years and PSA >20 ng/mL. The Mann–Whitney U and Fisher’s exact test were used for statistical analysis. Results: Between November 2018 and August 2020, 169 men underwent TRUS prostate biopsies. Group A (10-cores) consisted of 105 (62.13%) men and Group B (24-cores) included 64 (37.86%) men. The overall prostate cancer detection rate was 41.05% and 36.72% in Groups A and B, respectively (P = 0.48). An overall 9.8% increase in Gleason 7 detection rate was found in Group B (P = 0.24). The high-grade prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia (HGPIN) detection rate in men with negative initial biopsies was 15.54% and 35.55% in Groups A and B, respectively (P < 0.001). In patients with PSA <10 ng/mL, the 24-core technique increased Gleason 7 detection rate by 13.4% (P = 0.16) and HGPIN by 23.4% (P = 0.0008), compared to the 10-core technique. The 24-core technique increased the concordance between needle biopsy and prostatectomy specimen compared to the 10-core technique (P < 0.002). Conclusions: The initial 24-core prostate biopsy protocol did not show any benefit in the detection of prostate cancer compared to the 10-core technique. However, it improved the HGPIN detection and the correlation between biopsy results and radical prostatectomy Gleason score in men with lower PSA levels.