Through this innovative examination method, prostate cancer was identified in a male patient who had been already examined three times. This remarkable medical case was again at the Medicus Alpha Plovdiv Clinic. A male patient aged 56 with complaints and medical tests leading to suspected prostate cancer has asked the help of the urologists at Medicus Alpha, having previously been given three successive biopsies negative for prostate cancer. The patient has been made a fourth biopsy, performed by Dr. Rangel Starev using the HistoScanning TT technology. 12 targeted 3D navigated biopsies have been performed and in 5 of them cancer has proven histologically after which the patient has been referred for adequate treatment.
Nearly 60% of the male patients sustaining high levels of the prostate-specific antigen and negative result from the conventional biopsy, practically have prostate cancer – this is the outcome of the comparative analysis of data available with Medicus Alpha Clinic, the only medical establishment in Bulgaria that uses HistoScanning TT to perform targeted prostate biopsy. The data analysis proves that from 187 cases of diagnosed prostate cancer using HistoScanning, 91 have been done one or more biopsies of other technology without identifying the cancer. The timely diagnostics in prostate cancer is decisive for the resulting outcome of the treatment, therefore the ultrasound targeted prostate biopsy has high social and medical significance. HistoScanning TT is an innovative ultrasound diagnostic method that recently has found its application in prostate cancer diagnostics. This methods employs the property of the ultrasound wave to reflect different images according to the differences in the morphological structure of tissues. The equipment can “discover” the tumor focuses, displaying in 3D their location within the prostate gland. Based on the image, the biopsy needle is being targeted towards the particular focuses, thus attaining the most accurate result possible, with a nearly 100 % precision. Besides for prostate cancer, this equipment is applied in breast cancer, ovary cancer and thyroid gland cancer.
Comparative analysis of specialized literature shows that the ability of HistoScanning to predict a cancerous focus of size ≥ 0.2 cm³ in the prostate gland is within 92% – 99%, compared to 77% in CT with contrasting agent, and 74% – 80% in Multiparametric MRI fusion-target biopsy. Besides, the HistoScanning examination has shorter duration, it is performed with intravenous anesthesia, and the risk of some common complications, like post-surgical infections and bleeding, is minimal.
HistoScanning may also be used prior to performing nerve-sparing radical prostatectomy for optimizing the surgical procedure – identifying the size, location and scope of engagement of adjacent tissue, allows the surgeon to decide whether to preserve or not the adjacent neurovascular bundle, i.e. sparing the patient’s erectile function.
In most industrially developed countries prostate cancer ranks first in terms of frequency of occurrence and second – in terms of mortality with malignant tumors in male population. Accounting for the global tendency of population ageing, it is considered that within the next two decades, the number of male individuals diagnosed with this condition is going to rise considerably. According to the National Cancer Register, just in 2016, new 3125 cases were diagnosed, which represents a 60% rise for the last 10 years.