How To Do A Prostate Biopsy

About Dr Dan Sperling

Dan Sperling, MD, DABR, is a board certified radiologist who is globally recognized as a leader in multiparametric MRI for the detection and diagnosis of a range of disease conditions. As Medical Director of the Sperling Prostate Center, Sperling Medical Group and Sperling Neurosurgery Associates, he and his team are on the leading edge of significant change in medical practice. He is the co-author of the new patient book Redefining Prostate Cancer, and is a contributing author on over 25 published studies. For more information, contact the Sperling Prostate Center.

Search the spc blog

Is A Prostatebiopsy Painful

A prostate biopsy is a surgical procedure, and what people feel after is very similar to what people feel after surgery. After any surgical procedure and when the anesthesia wears off, people feel pain. They need to use anti-inflammatory drugs to manage their symptoms, and the intensity is variable. You have people who manage their pain efficiently and others who are significantly affected by the symptom. Something similar happens after a prostate biopsy.

Anesthesia is not always used in a transrectal ultrasonography-guided biopsy. So, it might be a good idea to ask your doctor if hes going to use anesthesia or not. Certain studies show that theres no significant difference in pain symptoms with and without anesthesia. Others mention that anesthesia reduces the sensation of pain significantly. Due to diverging studies, anesthesia use is not explicitly written in the protocol, and some doctors prefer not to use it. However, it is essential to achieve adequate pain management in this procedure in any way or another. Ask your doctor what will be the method he will use to manage pain .

Would The Method Cause You Torment

Definitely The agony would be because of the anesthesia infusions, as well as be experienced when the specimens are being taken. This is an exceptionally obtrusive technique which could bring about diseases after it is being finished. Infections which are exceptionally agonizing, as well as the kind which couldn’t without much of a stretch be cured by the most grounded anti-microbials.

In reality, biopsy is an extremely difficult method, yet there is no insurance that doing it would cure you from prostate infections, or take out prostate growth cells from your system.

Don’t Miss: Best Supplement For Men’s Prostate

Use In Men Already Diagnosed With Prostate Cancer

The PSA test can also be useful if you have already been diagnosed with prostate cancer.

• In men just diagnosed with prostate cancer, the PSA level can be used together with physical exam results and tumor grade to help decide if other tests are needed.
• The PSA level is used to help determine the stage of your cancer. This can affect your treatment options, since some treatments are not likely to be helpful if the cancer has spread to other parts of the body.
• PSA tests are often an important part of determining how well treatment is working, as well as in watching for a possible recurrence of the cancer after treatment .

Regarding A Post Radical Prostatectomy Report What Do The Following Mean Tertiary Pattern 5 Mx Ro

In the Gleason scoring system, the majority Gleason pattern is called the primary pattern. The minority pattern is called the secondary pattern. If there is another pattern that makes up only a smidge , it is called the tertiary pattern. A tertiary pattern 5 would mean that there is just a smidge of the most aggressive Gleason pattern present.

The M category relates to whether or not distant metastases are present. If the bone scan and CT scan show no evidence of metastases, the M category is M0. If the scans show that metastases are present, the M category is M1. If the pathologist does not know the results of the scans, it is called MX, i.e. they dont know whether or not metastases are present.

The R category refers to the surgical margin if there is cancer at the margins, it is called R1. If all of the margins are clear, it is called R0.

Also Check: Is Prostate Cancer Estrogen Dependent

Read Also: Bone Scan Vs Pet Scan For Prostate Cancer

How Important Is The Gleason Score

The Gleason score is very important in predicting the behavior of a prostate cancer and determining the best treatment options. Still, other factors are also important, such as:

• The blood PSA level
• How much of each core is made up of cancer
• The number of cores that contain cancer
• Whether cancer was found in both sides of the prostate
• Whether the cancer has spread outside the prostate

What To Watch For Afterward

Here are the most common complications of prostate biopsy:

• Pain in the area between the anus and scrotum for a few days to a week.
• Blood in your urine for a few days to several weeks.
• Blood in the stool for a day or so. If it lasts longer, notify your physician.
• Blood in the semen for three to six weeks, and possibly longer.

Make sure to notify your doctor if rectal or urinary bleeding get worse. Also, be on guard in the first 24 to 48 hours for signs of a serious infection in the urinary tract or prostate gland. “The alarm signs are fever or chills,” Dr. Garnick says. “If you experience this, get to a hospital immediately for intravenous antibiotics.” A runaway infection can be dangerous, so don’t ignore the signs.

Another uncommon but dangerous complication is urinary retentionthe inability to pass urine caused by an infection. Seek care immediately if you stop being able to urinate after a biopsy.

Read Also: How Do You Diagnose Prostate Cancer

What Are Grade Groups

Grade Groups are a new way to grade prostate cancer to address some of the issues with the Gleason grading system.

As noted above, currently in practice the lowest Gleason score that is given is a 6, despite the Gleason grades ranging in theory from 2 to 10. This understandably leads some patients to think that their cancer on biopsy is in the middle of the grade scale. This can compound their worry about their diagnosis and make them more likely to feel that they need to be treated right away.

Another problem with the Gleason grading system is that the Gleason scores are often divided into only 3 groups . This is not accurate, since Gleason score 7 is made up of two grades , with the latter having a much worse prognosis. Similarly, Gleason scores of 9 or 10 have a worse prognosis than Gleason score 8.

To account for these differences, the Grade Groups range from 1 to 5 :

• Grade Group 1 = Gleason 6
• Grade Group 2 = Gleason 3+4=7
• Grade Group 3 = Gleason 4+3=7
• Grade Group 4 = Gleason 8
• Grade Group 5 = Gleason 9-10

Although eventually the Grade Group system may replace the Gleason system, the two systems are currently reported side-by-side.

Types Of Prostate Biopsy

A prostate biopsy may be done in several different ways:

• Transrectal method

At the moment, most biopsies are done using a transrectal ultrasound-guided technique. A TRUS prostate biopsy is where the needle goes through the wall of the back passage .

• Perineal method

This is done through the skin between the scrotum and the rectum.

• Transurethral method

This is a type of biopsy done through the urethra using a cystoscope .

• Transperineal biopsy

Unlike the TRUS Guided Biopsy, this is where the doctor inserts a needle into the prostate through the skin between the testicles and the anus. This area is the perineum.

The needle is inserted through a template or grid. This is a targeted biopsy, which can be target a specific area of the prostate using MRI scans. An advantage of the TP biopsy is that it can now be performed under local anesthesia.

Recommended Reading: What Is The Function Of The Prostate

Don’t Miss: Prostate Cancer And Lung Cancer

What Are The Side Effects Of A Biopsy

Having a biopsy can cause side effects. These will affect each man differently, and you may not get all of the possible side effects.

Pain or discomfort

Some men feel pain or discomfort in their back passage for a few days after a TRUS biopsy. Others feel a dull ache along the underside of their penis or lower abdomen . If you have a transperineal biopsy, you may get some bruising and discomfort in the area where the needle went in for a few days afterwards.

If you receive anal sex, wait about two weeks, or until any pain or discomfort from your biopsy has settled, before having sex again. Ask your doctor or nurse at the hospital for further advice.

Some men find the biopsy painful, but others have only slight discomfort. Your nurse or doctor may suggest taking mild pain-relieving drugs, such as paracetamol, to help with any pain.

If you have any pain or discomfort that doesnt go away, talk to your nurse or doctor.

Short-term bleeding

Its normal to see a small amount of blood in your urine or bowel movements for about two weeks. You may also notice blood in your semen for a couple of months it might look red or dark brown. This is normal and should get better by itself. If it takes longer to clear up, or gets worse, you should see a doctor straight away.

Infection

Symptoms of a urine infection may include:

• pain or a burning feeling when you urinate
• dark or cloudy urine with a strong smell
• needing to urinate more often than usual
• pain in your lower abdomen .

Use In Men Who Might Have Prostate Cancer

The PSA blood test is used mainly to screen for prostate cancer in men without symptoms. Its also one of the first tests done in men who have symptoms that might be caused by prostate cancer.

PSA in the blood is measured in units called nanograms per milliliter . The chance of having prostate cancer goes up as the PSA level goes up, but there is no set cutoff point that can tell for sure if a man does or doesnt have prostate cancer. Many doctors use a PSA cutoff point of 4 ng/mL or higher when deciding if a man might need further testing, while others might recommend it starting at a lower level, such as 2.5 or 3.

• Most men without prostate cancer have PSA levels under 4 ng/mL of blood. Still, a level below 4 is not a guarantee that a man doesnt have cancer.
• Men with a PSA level between 4 and 10 have about a 1 in 4 chance of having prostate cancer.
• If the PSA is more than 10, the chance of having prostate cancer is over 50%.

If your PSA level is high, you might need further tests to look for prostate cancer.

To learn more about how the PSA test is used to look for cancer, including factors that can affect PSA levels, special types of PSA tests, and what the next steps might be if you have an abnormal PSA level, see Screening Tests for Prostate Cancer.

Don’t Miss: What Age To Screen For Prostate Cancer

Things You Need To Take Care

In case, you’re the kind who wouldn’t like to get through an obtrusive and difficult technique like biopsy, regardless you have different alternatives. Do it the natural way.

Change your eating routine. Stay away from food which could trigger prostate diseases. Change your way of life. Get into prostate-accommodating activities.

At last, and most essential of all, take natural supplements which could keep or keep up the health of your prostate, and moderate down the development or wipe out those cancer cells.

In concluding lines, We wouldn’t have any desire to experience pain if we could help it. Biopsy is a painful method. Therefore, you need to think a ton of times before you decide on it. Pain or no pain? The choice is up to you!

D Pathology Concordance Between Biopsy And Radical Prostatectomy

Several studies have demonstrated that extended biopsy schemes improve biopsy concordance with prostatectomy specimens. Concordance rates of prostate cancer grade, when an extended biopsy scheme is used, are as high as 85%, compared to 50% with a sextant biopsy. Upgrading of the Gleason score has been shown to be significantly less likely with the extended scheme . Similarly, 14% of the prostate cancers detected using extended biopsy schemes have been shown to be under-graded compared to 25% of cancers detected using sextant schemes . The results of biopsy schemes involving saturation biopsies appear to have a higher concordance rate with results from prostatectomy than a scheme involving fewer than 12 cores .

Also Check: Malignant Prostate Cancer Survival Rate

Getting The Results Of The Biopsy

Your biopsy samples will be sent to a lab, where they will be looked at with a microscope to see if they contain cancer cells. Getting the results usually takes at least 1 to 3 days, but it can sometimes take longer. The results might be reported as:

• Positive for cancer: Cancer cells were seen in the biopsy samples.
• Negative for cancer: No cancer cells were seen in the biopsy samples.
• Suspicious: Something abnormal was seen, but it might not be cancer.

If the biopsy is negative

If the prostate biopsy results are negative , and the chance that you have prostate cancer isnt very high based on your PSA level and other tests, you might not need any more tests, other than repeat PSA tests sometime later.

But even if many samples are taken, biopsies can still sometimes miss a cancer if none of the biopsy needles pass through it. This is known as a false-negative result. If your doctor still strongly suspects you have prostate cancer , your doctor might suggest:

• Getting other lab tests to help get a better idea of whether or not you might have prostate cancer. Examples of such tests include the Prostate Health Index , 4Kscore test, PCA3 tests , and ConfirmMDx. These tests are discussed in Whats New in Prostate Cancer Research?
• Getting a repeat prostate biopsy. This might include getting additional samples of parts of the prostate not biopsied the first time, or using imaging tests such as MRI to look more closely for abnormal areas to target.

Prostate cancer grade

Gleason score

Set To Experience Biopsy

The little reproductive organs behind the prostate will be assessed and the area amongst it and the prostate will be infused one on every side with anesthesia, to numb it. The biopsy will be performed then, by taking specimens of your prostate tissues and putting these examples under the magnifying instrument to search for tumor cells.

Don’t Miss: New Drugs For Advanced Prostate Cancer

What Abnormal Results Mean

A positive biopsy result means that cancer cells have been found. The lab will give the cells a grade called a Gleason score. This helps predict how fast the cancer will grow. Your doctor will talk to you about your treatment options.

The biopsy may also show cells that look abnormal, but may or may not be cancer. Your provider will talk with you about what steps to take. You may need another biopsy.

When To Get Tested

The USPTF and other medical experts recommend taking questions about prostate exams to the doctor. Thats because answers about the benefits and risks of prostate exams and when to get tested are personal they vary based on a persons age, family history and overall health.

The 2017 USPTF guidelines suggest that screening should start at:

• Age 40 for anyone with a family history of prostate cancer
• Age 45 for African Americans
• Age 50 for everyone else

Follow-up tests may not be necessary depending on risk and the outcome of the first test. Because the disease develops slowly, tests usually stop after age 70.

Recommended Reading: How Long Is Prostate Surgery

To 7 Days Before Your Procedure

You may need to stop taking some of your usual medications before your surgery. Examples include anticoagulants, aspirin, medications that contain aspirin, and vitamin E. Follow your healthcare providers instructions.

You can read about medications that contain aspirin and vitamin E in the resource Common Medications Containing Aspirin, Other Nonsteroidal Anti-inflammatory Drugs , or Vitamin E.

Are You Seeing Prostate Cancer Becoming More Prevalent In Younger Patients

Its pretty rare. Its less common that men in their 40s have prostate cancer, but, we also are very rarely screening them. The young men who come in to be screened tend to have one of those high-risk features. They most likely had a father who had prostate cancer, so theyre nervous about it. Or theyre African-American, and theyve been flagged by their health care providers.

If youre young, your quality of life is even more important to you right now. We know that, if diagnosed with low-grade prostate cancer, a person will need treatment at some time in life. If we can delay treatmentwhich could negatively impact urinary or sexual functionby several years, then we should do that and obviously discuss that there is a low but possible chance of metastasis developing during that time.

Recommended Reading: Flomax No Ejaculate

Also Check: Why Is Prostate Cancer So Common

Adverse Effects Of A Prostate Biopsy

The majority of men undergo prostate biopsy with few or no significant problems at all. However, some men do have problems, and a good physician will be sympathetic to these problems if they occur:

• While many men have little or no pain associated with a prostate biopsy, for some men there can be significant pain. It is possible that such pain is associated with the biopsy needle cutting into or through nerves that run through the prostate tissue.
• Minor bleeding may occur after a biopsy, and evidence of blood in the urine and the semen post-biopsy is very common. Rectal bleeding is also a possibility. The patient should be encouraged to avoid heavy work or exercise for 24 hours after a biopsy. If there is significant and continued bleeding, a patient should immediately contact the doctors office.
• Difficult with urination is also a possible complication. In this case also, the doctors office should be informed immediately.
• Infection associated with a prostate biopsy is a relatively rare but very possible complication. If the patient develops a high fever, and complains of chills or abdominal pain after the procedure, he should arrange to see the doctor right away.