TRANSRECTAL ULTRASONOGRAPHY VERSUS DIGITALLY GUIDED PROSTATE BIOPSIESIN PATIENTS WITH PALPABLE LESIONS ON DIGITAL RECTAL EXAMINATION

Objective To compare the efficacy of digital and ultrasonographic guid ance of biopsies when there is a palpable lesion on the prostate. Pati ents and methods Forty patients with a palpable nodule confined to a s ingle lobe of the prostate underwent digitally guided biopsies of this lesion or biopsies directed by transrectal ultrasonography (TRUS) and /or systematic biopsies. Results According to the histopathological ex amination, 21 patients were found to have prostate carcinoma (PCa) usi ng TRUS-guided biopsies, whereas digitally guided biopsies revealed PC a in 18 patients but did not detect three cases, In the study group, t he prostate of 10 patients had a normal ultrasonographic appearance an d two patients had PCa revealed by systematic biopsies. Conclusion We suggest that in the presence of a palpable lesion in the prostate, reg ardless of TRUS findings, systematic biopsies are mandatory. Present d ata indicates that digitally guided biopsies are unnecessary as they d o not provide additional information over systematic or TRUS-guided bi opsies.