Impact of Surgeon’s Experience in Rigid versus Elastic MRI/TRUS-Fusion Biopsy to Detect Significant Prostate Cancer Using Targeted and Systematic Cores

SIMPLE SUMMARY: For the transfer of suspicious lesions in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to ultrasound in prostate fusion biopsy, biopsy platforms can be distinguished by rigid or elastic image registration. This study evaluates the detection rate of these different platforms for transperineal fusion-guided prostate biopsy to detect clinically significant prostate cancer under consideration of the surgeon’s learning curve. In our cohort, rigid and elastic registration systems showed a similar prostate cancer detection rate in experienced surgeons, whereas novices seem to benefit from rigid fusion. In the total cohort, targeted fusion biopsy with a rigid registration system outperformed elastic registration target biopsy with a superior significant prostate cancer detection rate, each compared to systematic saturation biopsy. Thus, rigid target biopsy aided in reducing targeting errors that result in missing MRI-visualized significant prostate cancer. These results can provide valuable decision support in selecting a biopsy fusion platform to increase the detection rate and risk stratification of prostate cancer, especially at the beginning of the surgeon’s learning curve. ABSTRACT: Multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging (mpMRI) and MRI/ultrasound fusion-targeted prostate biopsy (FB) have excellent sensitivity in detecting significant prostate cancer (sPC). FB platforms can be distinguished by rigid (RTB) or elastic image registration (ETB). We compared RTB and ETB by analyzing sPC detection rates of both RTB and ETB at different stages of the surgeons’ learning curve. Patients undergoing RTB between 2015–2017 (n = 502) were compared to patients undergoing ETB from 2017–2019 (n = 437). SPC detection rates were compared by Chi-square-test on patient-basis. Combination of transperineal systematic biopsy and each TB served as reference and sub-analyses were performed for different grades of surgeon’s experience. In the RTB subgroup, 233 men (46%) had sPC, compared to 201 (46%) in the ETB subgroup. RTB alone detected 94% of men with sPC and ETB 87% (p = 0.02). However, for at least intermediate-experienced surgeons (>100 FB), no differences occurred between RTB and ETB. In the total cohort, at least intermediate-experienced surgeons detected significantly more sPC (10%, p = 0.008) than novices. Thus, targeted transperineal MRI/TRUS-FB with a RTB registration system showed a similar sPC detection rate to ETB in experienced surgeons but a superior sPC detection rate to ETB in the total cohort. Low-experienced surgeons seem to benefit from RTB.