Post-MRI transrectal micro-ultrasonography of transition zone PI-RADS > 2 lesions for biopsy guidance

To prospectively determine the value of post-MRI micro-ultrasonography (microUS) in the diagnosis of transition zone (TZ) significant prostate cancer (sPCa).

Eighty-four consecutive men (66 ± 6.3 years) with a mean PSA level of 10.2 ± 7.4 ng/mL and at least one TZ-PI-RADS > 2 lesion were included. All patients had MRI-directed microUS and biopsy. Sensitivity and specificity of post-MRI microUS to visualize PI-RADS > 2 TZ lesions, the cancer detection rate of TZ-sPCa, and tumor characteristics according to their visibility on microUS were evaluated. Interreader agreement for detecting microUS+ lesions was evaluated using Cohen’s kappa test.

Of the 92 PI-RADS > 2 lesions, 71 (71/92; 77%) were visible on microUS and biopsy was performed without image fusion, which was required for the 21 invisible lesions (21/92; 22.8%). TZ-sPCa detection rate was 51.1% (47/92). Sensitivity and specificity of MRI-directed microUS were 83% (39/47; 95% CI: 69.2–92.4%) and 28.9% (13/45; 95% CI: 16.4–44.3%), on a per-lesion basis and 86.4% (38/45; 95% CI: 72.6–94.8%) and 27.5% (11/40; 95% CI: 14.6–43.9%) on a per-patient basis. Visible tumors on microUS exhibited a larger volume and a lower mean ADC value than non-visible tumors (15.8 ± 5.1 vs. 12.5 ± 3.6 mm and 0.82 ± 1.1 × 10³ vs. 0.9 ± 1.4 × 10⁻³ mm²/s) (p = 0.02). Non-visible tumors showed a heterogeneous non-specific echotexture or were masked by the shadowing caused by corpora amylacea. Interreader agreement was almost perfect (kappa = 0.88; 95% CI: 0.79–0.95). The main limitation is the single-center feature of the study.

MRI-targeted transrectal microUS is effective to detect TZ-sPCa. TRUS-MRI image fusion helps overcome limitations due to TZ tissue heterogeneity.