Ultrasonic, Spectrum-Analysis, Tissue-Typing Images for Prostate-Biopsy Guidance and Staging

摘要

Prostate cancer is diagnosed using needle biopsies guided by conventional ultrasonic images. However, conventional ultrasound has inadequate sensitivity and specificity to direct biopsies reliably into cancerous regions. Urologists use conventional images to guide the needle systematically, but "blindly", into six or more selected regions of the gland. Unless a distinctly palpable or ultrasonically visible nodule is present (e.g, as a hypoechogenic region) to raise suspicion, the urologist simply samples tissue from the left and right base, mid, and apical regions of the gland, and possibly from the transition zone or seminal vesicles. Becasue of the blind nature of this procedure, initial biopsies miss about half the cancers, which reslts in a high incidence of false-negative biopsies; in addition, more than two thirds of the initial biopsies sample benign tissue, which reslts in an unfortunately high incidence of true negative biopsies.