Extended and saturation needle biopsy for the diagnosis of prostate cancer.

The diagnosis of prostate cancer hinges on the use of systematic ultrasound-guided transrectal needle biopsy. The choice of technique is important, especially for patients with a history of a negative biopsy. Saturation biopsy can be considered for patients at risk of cancer who are willing to accept the side effects and who understand that clinically insignificant cancers can be detected. For patients with previous negative sextant biopsies, expanding the zones sampled and increasing the number of biopsy cores can help detect significant cancers while they are still confined. However, as extended biopsy becomes more commonly performed for initial diagnosis, there likely will be less need for saturation biopsy protocols.