Background: In patients with suspected prostate cancer (PCa) according to current guidelines systematic transrectal ultrasound (TRUS)-guided biopsy of the prostate is performed to verify or rule out PCa. However, TRUS-guided biopsy can result in underdetection of clinically significant cancers as well as diagnosis of clinically insignificant cancers. Multiparametric MRI (mpMRI) might improve the diagnostic pathway and help to avoid unnecessary biopsies.
Design and methods: The PROKOMB (Prostata - Kooperatives MRT-Projekt Berlin) study is a prospective two-arm multicentre study designed to evaluate the potential role of mpMRI as a triage test before biopsy. Up to 600 biopsy-naïve men with suspicion for PCa undergo mpMRI at two dedicated imaging centers. Only patients with equivocal or suspicious lesions on mpMRI undergo prostate biopsy including systematic as well as MRI-guided targeted biopsies at several different community-based urologists or hospitals. The PROKOMB study is designed to evaluate how many biopsies can be avoided, how many clinically insignificant cancers are diagnosed on prostate biopsy in patients with positive findings on mpMRI, and how many clinically significant cancers are missed using this alternative diagnostic pathway. For the purpose of this study clinically significant PCa is defined as Gleason ≥3+4 cancer. In addition, the detection rates of different techniques for MRI-guided biopsy are evaluated as well as psychological distress before mpMRI and after the diagnosis of PCa.
Conclusion: The PROKOMB study might help in defining the role of mpMRI in biopsy-naïve patients with suspected PCa in an ambulatory care setting.
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