ABSTRACT
Objective:To investigate the value of prostate biopsy guided by transrectal real-time ultrasonic elastography (TRTE) combined with peak strain index (PSI) in the diagnosis of prostate cancer and the correlation with TRTE score and pathological Gleason score.Methods:A total of 80 patients with suspected prostate cancer who underwent TRTE in the First Affiliated Hospital of Hebei North University from January 2019 to December 2019 were selected. The PSI for suspicious lesions was measured, and targeted puncture biopsy guided by TRTE combined with PSI was performed on the patients, and then followed by systematic puncture biopsy. The outcomes of targeted biopsy and systematic biopsy were analyzed. Taking pathological biopsy results as the gold standard, the detection rates of prostate cancer and benign prostate lesions detected by both biopsies methods were compared; the prostate volume, serum prostate specific antigen (PSA) level and PSI were compared between patients with prostate cancer and benign prostatic lesions. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve and the area under the curve (AUC) were used to determine the best cut-off value of PSI in the diagnosis of prostate cancer. The values of conventional ultrasound versus TRTE combined with PSI in the diagnosis of prostate cancer were assessed. The positive rate of biopsy puncture points under the guidance of TRTE combined with PSI was compared with that of systematic biopsy. The correlation between TRTE score and pathological Gleason score of prostate malignant lesions was analyzed.Results:Among 80 patients, 45 patients (56.25%) were diagnosed as prostate cancer by prostate puncture biopsy, and 35 patients (43.75%) were benign prostate lesions. Among 45 patients with prostate cancer, 42 cases (93.33%) of prostate cancer were detected by using TRTE combined with PSI-guided targeted puncture biopsy, and 38 cases (84.44%) of prostate cancer were detected by using systematic puncture biopsy; there was no significant difference in the detection rate of prostate cancer by both biopsies methods ( χ2 = 1.80, P = 0.180). The level of serum PSA and PSI value in the prostate cancer group were higher than those in the benign prostate lesion group, and the difference was statistically significant ( t value was 65.28 and 14.93, all P < 0.05). The clinical value of PSI value in the diagnosis of prostate cancer was analyzed by using ROC curve. The results showed that the AUC was 0.857 (95% CI 0.772-0.941), and the optimal cut-off value of PSI was 5.68; PSI ≥ 5.68 was treated as the malignant cancer and PSI < 5.68 was treated as the benign cancer. The sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of TRTE combined with PSI in the diagnosis of prostate cancer were 91.11%, 94.29%, and 92.50%, respectively, which were higher than those of conventional ultrasound (73.33%, 68.57% and 71.25%), and the differences were statistically significant (all P < 0.05). A total of 89 suspected lesions were detected in 80 patients through TRTE combined with PSI, and each suspected lesion was detected by using 2-needle targeted puncture biopsy. There were 178 needles in total including 88 needles of prostate cancer and the positive rate of puncture points was 49.44% (88/178); there were 800 needles in total detected by using 10-needle systematic puncture biopsy including 203 needles of prostate cancer and the positive rate of puncture points was 25.38% (203/800); the positive rate of puncture points guided by TRTE combined with PSI puncture biopsy was higher than that by systematic puncture biopsy, and the difference was statistically significant ( χ2 = 40.337, P < 0.05). For prostate malignant lesions, the Spearman correlation analysis showed that TRTE score was positively correlated with pathological Gleason score ( r = 0.618, P < 0.05). Conclusion:TRTE combined with PSI-guided targeted puncture biopsy plays an important role in the diagnosis of prostate cancer, and it can effectively improve the positive rate of puncture points.