Precision diagnostics are used to detect aggressive prostate cancer at an early stage at the Andros Prostate Cancer Center. Precision diagnostics means that first with a 3 Tesla MRI it is checked whether a prostate biopsy is really necessary. If a prostate biopsy is required, Andros biopsies more reliably and safely with a fusion biopsy through the skin. This week the 2000th fusion biopsy will be performed at Andros by Jos Immerzeel. In 2015, he developed fusion prostate biopsy at Andros as a radiotherapist-oncologist, injected through the skin under local anesthesia.
In 2019, nearly 3,000 men died of prostate cancer. Because in addition to prostate cancers that do not require immediate or immediate treatment, there is also a group of men who do have aggressive prostate cancer. This aggressive prostate cancer is life-threatening and can almost only be curatively treated at an early stage, before the cancer has spread. With precision diagnostics, these cancers can be detected earlier.
Fusion Biopsy Results
Results of more than 5 years of precision diagnostics and 2000 fusion biopsies through the skin:
- MRI prevented more than half of the biopsies.
- More reliable results through targeted pricking.
- No need for preventive antibiotics.
- Infections and septicemia have been prevented by skin pricking.
2300 biopsies not required due to MRI first
2000 biopsies were performed at Andros, but precision diagnostics also prevented 2300 biopsies. According to traditional prostate cancer diagnostics, all of these 4,300 men had received a blind biopsy. By always checking with MRI before the biopsy whether a biopsy is really necessary, more than half of the biopsies could be prevented.
4300 men got a more reliable result
Targeted and accurate pricking will make the results more reliable. Prostate cancer was found in 80% of the fusion biopsies at Andros. With a traditional biopsy without prior MRI, prostate cancer is found in approximately 30%. Not only because unnecessary biopsies are used more often, but also because prostate cancers are missed because it is possible to prick next to the tumor.
4300 times no preventive antibiotics needed
With traditional diagnostics, 4300 men would have undergone a traditional TRUS biopsy in which an ultrasound guide is taken through the rectum. In order to prevent infection, therefore, preventive antibiotics had to be taken 4,300 times. Andros is pricked through the skin and preventive antibiotics are not necessary.
300 less prostate infections or septicemia
Despite these preventive antibiotics, approximately 300 men are said to have become ill. The infections arise because E. coli bacteria, which live in the intestine, are injected from the intestine into the prostate during the biopsy. Sometimes bacteria that are resistant to preventive antibiotics cause inflammation of the prostate or even (life-threatening) septicemia that requires hospitalization, sometimes even in the ICU.
Andros experiences are shared internationally
The Andros results of precision diagnostics are presented (internationally). These have also contributed to the inclusion of MRI in the Dutch guideline for prostate cancer diagnostics. In addition, expert Immerzeel, as a fusion biopsy specialist, now assists urologists worldwide in the transition to fusion biopsy and provides training in hospitals in pricking biopsies through the skin under local anesthesia. In this way, Andros hopes to contribute to the more effective and safer detection of prostate cancer for all men.
The Andros Prostate Cancer Center focuses entirely on prostate cancer, provides insured care and provides information about the prostate at www.andros.nl. The center is part of Andros, the largest independent urological clinic with branches throughout the Netherlands. Nearly 10,000 patients visit the Andros clinics every year.
Source: Andros Men’s Clinic
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