Prostate Cancer ......................more about

On the surface therefore it could appear that the prostate cancer biopsy is not a very effective test but the results do not in fact show that there is anything wrong with the prostate biopsy procedure as a tool for confirming prostate cancer. However, what is does show is the need to spot those patients who, despite returning a negative result, are nevertheless at considerable risk from prostate cancer and ought therefore to undergo a second follow-up biopsy.The problem is that until recently there has not been an easy way of identifying patients at risk. Luckily, a recent study of over 500 patients being investigated for prostate cancer could now provide a solution.All of the individuals investigated in the study had previously received a negative prostate biopsy result but researchers found that when they studied the men's PSA test results and these were adjusted for the size of the prostate they were able to identify those patients who were likely to return positive results on a follow-up biopsy.The researchers also found that patients who had a Gleeson score of 7 or more were at greater risk from life-threatening prostate cancer and were once again more likely to record a positive result on a second biopsy. The Gleeson score is measured on a scale from 2 to 10 and the score is derived from a microscopic investigation of prostate biopsy tissue. Low scores point to cancer with a small risk of spread while high scores point to cancer that is more likely to spread.There are a variety of prostate biopsy procedures used now but possibly the most common procedure is known as the core needle biopsy. Here a number of very small tissue samples are removed from different areas of the prostrate using a biopsy gun that shoots a needle into the chosen area to remove the sample in just a fraction of a second. These samples are then sent for microscopic analysis to determine whether or not cancer is present and, if it is, to establish exactly how much of the prostate is affected.A prostate cancer biopsy is a costly procedure and is a test that can also be very distressing for the patient. It can also be a quite painful procedure that may be accompanied by bleeding and a risk of infection. As a consequence it is important to spot those patients for whom a second biopsy is sensible and to reduce as far as we can the number of preventable follow-up biopsies being performed every year.

By Adnan