Usefulness of MRI targeted prostate biopsy for detecting clinically significant prostate cancer in men with low prostate-specific antigen levels

We aimed to evaluate the detection rates of prostate cancer (PCa) and clinically significant PCa (csPCa) using magnetic resonance imaging-targeted biopsy (MRI-TBx) in men with low prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels (2.5–4.0 ng/mL). Clinicopathologic data of 5502 men with PSA levels of 2.5–10.0 ng/mL who underwent transrectal ultrasound-guided biopsy (TRUS-Bx) or MRI-TBx were reviewed. Participants were divided into four groups: LP-T [low PSA (2.5–4.0 ng/mL) and TRUS-Bx, n = 2018], LP-M (low PSA and MRI-TBx, n = 186), HP-T [high PSA (4.0–10.0 ng/mL) and TRUS-Bx, n = 2953], and HP-M (high PSA and MRI-TBx, n = 345). The detection rates of PCa and csPCa between groups were compared, and association of biopsy modality with detection of PCa and csPCa in men with low PSA levels were analyzed. The detection rates of PCa (20.0% vs. 38.2%; P < 0.001) and csPCa (11.5% vs. 32.3%; P < 0.001) were higher in the LP-M group than in the LP-T group. Conversely, there were no significant differences in the detection rates of PCa (38.2% vs. 43.2%; P = 0.263) and csPCa (32.3% vs. 39.4%; P = 0.103) between the LP-M and HP-M groups. Multivariate analyses revealed that using MRI-TBx could predict the detection of csPCa (odds ratio 2.872; 95% confidence interval 1.996‒4.132; P < 0.001) in men with low PSA levels. In summary, performing MRI-TBx in men with low PSA levels significantly improved the detection rates of PCa and csPCa as much as that in men with high PSA levels.