Comparing Regional Saturation Biopsy and Targeted Biopsy: Is Perilesional Biopsy Necessary for High-Prostate-Specific Antigen Patients?

[BACKGROUND] Previous studies have indicated that regional saturation prostate biopsy (RSB) is more effective than targeted biopsy (TB) or systematic biopsy (SB) for patients with prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels between 4 and 20 ng/mL. However, its efficacy in patients with PSA levels ≥ 20 ng/mL remains unclear.

[PATIENTS AND METHODS] In this prospective, single-center, randomized controlled trial, we enrolled patients with PSA levels greater than 20 ng/mL and suspicious magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings from January 2021 to August 2023. The participants were randomized to undergo RSB or TB, and SB was also performed. The primary endpoint was the detection rate of clinically significant prostate cancer (csPCa), defined as an International Society of Urological Pathology (ISUP) grade ≥ 2.

[RESULTS] RSB detected csPCa more frequently than did TB (90.2% versus 82.9%, p = 0.01) and SB (90.2% versus 82.5%, p = 0.01). Supplementary SB did not increase csPCa detection in the RSB group but did increase it in the TB group. Subgroup analysis revealed that RSB was particularly effective for patients with PSA levels between 20 and 50 ng/mL, prostate imaging-reporting and data system (PI-RADS) score of 3 lesions, prostate volume (PV) > 45 mL, and PSA density (PSAD) < 1.0 ng/mL/cc. However, the single-center design limits the generalizability of our findings.

[CONCLUSIONS] Our trial suggests that RSB is superior to TB in detecting significant prostate cancers among patients with high PSA levels (≥ 20 ng/mL). Notably, perilesional biopsy is crucial for those with PSA levels between 20 and 50 ng/mL, larger PV, low PSAD, and low PI-RADS scores, enhancing csPCa detection.