9 columbushosp.org If the prostate MRI doesn’t show any areas that look suspicious for cancer, you may be able to avoid a biopsy. Your doctor might recommend follow-up blood tests, for instance, to watch your PSA level. But if your scan shows a suspicious area in the prostate, your doctor may recommend a prostate biopsy next. A biopsy involves inserting a needle into the prostate under ultrasound guidance to remove a small amount of tissue. That tissue will then be examined with a microscope. In the past, prostate biopsies didn’t target areas suspicious for cancer — instead, they randomly sampled prostate tissue. Now, the image taken during your prostate MRI can be fused with a live ultrasound image to direct the biopsy needle to the most suspicious-looking areas in the prostate. Because this method is more precise, you and your doctor can have more confidence in your biopsy results as you make decisions about whether treatment is needed. “The biggest potential improvement for patient care is early detection,” said Mark Howerter, MD, chief medical officer at Columbus. “And the second thing is, if you have to go through a biopsy, it’s much better to have a targeted biopsy.” A primary care provider can order a prostate MRI before you schedule an appointment with a urologist, or the urologist may order one before performing a biopsy. Talk to your primary care provider or your urologist to learn more. What a prostate MRI may or may not show
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