Transrectal shear wave elastography combined with transition zone biopsy for detecting prostate cancer

Objective: To evaluate the application of shear wave elastography (SWE) combined with transition zone biopsy in the detection of prostate cancer (PCa).

Methods: A total of 489 patients with suspected PCa underwent transrectal ultrasonography (TRUS) and SWE-guided prostatic biopsy. We evaluated the role of SWE combined with transition zone biopsy in promoting the detection rate in comparison with the results of biopsy pathology.

Results: The pathological results confirmed 221 malignant and 268 benign cases. Based on systematic biopsy, SWE combined with transition zone biopsy achieved a detection rate of 45. 19% , significantly higher than that of systematic biopsy alone (33.13%) (P < 0.05). The diagnostic sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of SWE were significantly better than those of TRUS (P < 0.05). The mean elasticity (Emean) of SWE was remarkably higher for malignant than for benign lesions ([40.1 ± 9.5] vs [21.6 ± 8.3] kPa, P < 0.05). With 28.5 kPa as the threshold of the Emean value, the area under the ROC curve was 0. 899, and the diagnostic sensitivity and specificity were 88.71% and 86.23%, respectively.

Conclusions: SWE combined with transition zone biopsy could significantly improve the detection rate of prostate cancer.