Needle core length is a quality indicator of systematic transperineal prostate biopsy

Objective: To analyse the length of needle cores sampled as a quality indicator in systematic transperineal prostate biopsy. We assessed the correlation of core length with the other clinical and topographic parameters. Material and methods: We prospectively evaluated data from 509 consecutive patients who underwent a first set of transrectal ultrasound-guided transperineal prostate biopsy for suspected prostate cancer. Fourteen cores were sampled from each patient. Needle cores were stretched and placed in tissue cassettes between two nylon meshes according to the pre-embedding methods of prostate needle biopsy specimens. For single biopsy core, the measurement of length (in millimetres) and any percentage of cancer in the biopsy specimen were reported. Results: The mean length of 7,126 analysed cores was 14.14 +/- 4.35 mm. All cores were longer than 10 mm. The mean length of needle cores sampled did not correlate with patient age, total prostate-specific antigen value, digital rectal examination, and prostate volume. The whole mean length of the six samples from the peripheral zone of the right lobe was higher than the mean corresponding value of the six samples from the left lobe peripheral zone (p < 0.001). The transperineal approach allows a greater sampling of the prostate apex than of the midgland and prostate base (p < 0.001). Conclusions: The length of the needle cores sampled during transperineal prostate biopsy fulfils the parameters of quality required by pathologists for an appropriate evaluation of the biopsy specimen. (c) 2006 European Association of Urology. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.