A Prostate Fusion biopsy is a great alternative to the PSA test, which is only about 21% accurate and measures the levels of prostate-specific antigen (aka PSA) in the blood to screen men for prostate cancer.
A prostate fusion biopsy, also known as an MRI/Ultrasound Fusion biopsy, starts with a prostate MRI performed a few days to weeks before the scheduled biopsy. The MRI takes between 45 minutes and an hour, and a special dye will be injected through an IV towards the end of your exam. Afterwards, your radiologist will analyze the images of your prostate and put together a 3D picture of it; this will highlight any suspicious lesions or abnormal sections that will be useful for your urologist who will be carrying out your biopsy.
The biopsy performed by your urologist is informed by the results of your MRI. What this means is that your urologist will only take samples from areas of suspicion identified on the MRI, as opposed to taking 12 random biopsy cores, which was the previous golden standard. This is accomplished by giving the urologist performing the biopsy access to annotated images of your MRI, with areas of suspicion marked on their monitor. In real-time, these annotated images will be fused with your urologist’s transrectal ultrasound image of your prostate, allowing them to target the samples they take from your prostate.
You can learn more about how our approach here at Ezra stacks up against conventional methods, such as the PSA test, here. If you receive an Ezra scan that requires a follow-up in the prostate region, we can help you coordinate a Prostate Fusion Biopsy.
