Who should it be applied to?

It is recommended for patients with a higher than normal level of prostate specific antigen (PSA) in the blood and who need to undergo a biopsy for the first time. In addition, MR fusion biopsy should definitely be performed in patients with persistent suspected prostate cancer, although the result of the previous prostate biopsy is "clean".

Why is it important for those who have had a biopsy before and have a clean result?

Studies have shown that prostate cancer is detected in one in four people with a clean biopsy result within 20 years. Again, one in three patients who get clean as a result of a classic prostate biopsy will need to be re-biopsied within 5 years, and 40% of them have a tumor detected. For this reason, MR fusion biopsy should be absolutely performed in patients with persistent suspected prostate cancer to avoid delay in diagnosis, although the result of the previous biopsy is clear.

How is it applied?

MR fusion biopsy is a biopsy method that uses a smart biopsy robot and advanced computer software. First, after MRI of the prostate gland, areas suspected for cancer are identified with appropriate devices and marked with special computer software. MR images are sent electronically from the anus (transrectally) to the "fusion device" before the ultrasound-guided biopsy is performed. After being transformed into three-dimensional form in the same device, they are superimposed on the ultrasound images and "fusion", that is, "merge / record", is performed. Finally, using a robotic arm, the biopsy needle is semi-automatically directed to the highlighted MR suspect areas and the part is extracted from the previously determined targets. Thus, the foci with suspected cancer in the prostate gland are diagnosed with high accuracy and precision through "localization" using advanced technology.

What are the advantages over classic prostate biopsy?

Because the suspect tissue can be precisely targeted with MR fusion biopsy, diagnosis is made easier and more accurate than with classic biopsy. Cancer detection success, which is only about 70% with classic biopsy, is nearly 100% with MR fusion biopsy. In other words, 30% of prostate cancers are unfortunately missed in prostate biopsy performed with the classic method; this percentage is only 1-2% with a properly performed MR fusion biopsy. Because; Classic biopsy attempts to blindly capture a large number of fragments of the prostate gland, while MR fusion biopsy takes the cancer suspected foci directly by localization using advanced technology.

What other benefits does it have?

- It prevents unnecessary repetitions of biopsies.
- It allows faster diagnosis of clinically aggressive tumors.
- Reduced diagnosis of non-clinically significant cancers avoids unnecessary treatments.
- The coordinates of the biopsy sites can be determined and stored in the device memory. In this way, it is possible to re-biopsy previously biopsied sites. This is very helpful in patients with a follow-up protocol called active surveillance.
- Enables biopsy of parts of the prostate gland that are technically difficult to remove, as they cannot be viewed with ultrasound during classic biopsy

Is any preparation required prior to a biopsy?

Antibiotics are given before the procedure to reduce the risk of infection.

Will there be pain during the procedure?

No pain is felt during the procedure, thanks to anesthesia (sedation) administered via intravenous medication.

How long will the process take?

The average processing time is between 15-25 minutes.

Is it necessary to stay in the hospital?

The patient is discharged approximately 2 hours after the biopsy procedure.