“What areas of the prostate are used during a biopsy?”
I am getting a prostate biopsy done. I'm not sure what to expect. What is involved?
6 Answers
There are fifteen prostate biopsies. Your urologist divided the prostate into ride and left side. Then. You have Right upper, R. middle, and R. lower. On the left side is L. upper, L. middle, and left lower. Thank you.
Prostate biopsy is recommended when digital rectal examination (DRE) and or transrectal ultrasound (TRUS) discloses an abnormality, suspecting prostate cancer, or elevated serum PSA with no abnormality with DRE/TRUS due to prostate cancer. When the biopsy shows prostate cancer, the patient definitely has a cancer, but if the biopsy shows no evidence of cancer, the patient requires a follow up with repeat serum PSA measurement and repeat biopsy, if necessary.
Most urologists take 12 biopsies, six from each side (lobe) of the prostate gland, and they take them from the apex, mid and base regions. This allows for a very good sampling and evaluation of the whole prostate gland, although most cancers tend to be found in the posterior basal region, rather than the apex. The biopsies are taken with a really thin needle, and evaluated by pathologists who will give an interpretation of whether cancer is there or not.
Jeff Sims
Pathologist
All areas of the prostate are involved in a prostate biopsy procedure. This increases the reliability of the results. As for what to expect, a urologist would be more qualified to answer this part of your question.
Sandra L. Aponte
Pathologist
Usually the urologist will collect the sample using a small needle. The doctor may suggest an anesthetic to performe tge procedure. Commonly the needle is inserted through the rectum with the guide of an ultrasound. About 12 biopsies are collected from all the prostate parts.
The usual approach is to do a transrectal biopsy which requires you to do an enema and take antibiotics before the procedure. The doctor then positions the biopsy device so that he obtains 6-12 cores of tissue, each about 0.5 cm in length and less than a millimeter in diameter. The prostate is usually divided into sextants (apex, mid, base x 2 for both sides). The localization helps with placement of radioactive seeds if any cancer is found.
