Background: To investigate the feasibility of a freehand transperineal (TP) systematic prostate biopsy protocol under local anaesthesia (LA) and the value of different sectors in diagnosing prostate cancer (PCa).
Methods: A total of 611 consecutive freehand TP biopsies under LA in 2 hospitals were prospectively evaluated. Cancer detection rate in each of the four different sectors (anterior, mid, posterior, basal) was recorded to evaluate the value of each sector. Procedure tolerability was assessed by pain score and complications were documented.
Results: Systematic biopsies were performed in 556 out of 611 men with a median of 20 (IQR 12-24) biopsy cores taken. The median PSA was 9.9 (Inter-quartile range[IQR] 6.4-16.2) ng/mL, and 89.0% were first biopsies. All PCa and ISUP grade group (GG) ≥ 2 PCa (HGPCa) were diagnosed in 41.4% (230/556) and 28.2% (157/556) biopsies respectively. 77.0% HGPCa was diagnosed in ≥2 sectors. Single-sector HGPCa was predominantly found in anterior or posterior sector. Omitting base sector would have missed 1.5% (1/65) HGPCa out of the 219 cases with ≥24-core biopsies performed. Further omission of mid sector would have missed 3.1% (2/65) HGPCa and 7.4% (7/94) ISUP GG1 PCa (in which 3/7 involved 2 sectors). LA TP biopsy was well tolerated and the mean pain scores of the different steps of the procedure were between 1.9-3.1 (out of 10). Post-biopsy fever occurred in 0.3% of patients (2/611) and no sepsis was reported. The risk of urinary retention in men with ≥20 cores in ≥60 ml prostate was 7.8% (14/179), compared with 1.7% (7/423) in other groups (p < 0.001).
Conclusions: TP sectoral prostate biopsy under LA was well tolerated with minimal sepsis risk. Basal sector biopsies had minimal additional value to HGPCa detection and its omission can be considered.