How many specimens are typically obtained during a prostate biopsy?
Traditionally, a transrectal ultrasound guided biopsy included six cores taken from the base, midzone, and apex of the right and left prostate. In addition to having a low yield of detection, a major problem with six-core biopsies was that they did not adequately exclude cancer. When a man had a negative six-core biopsy, he had a 20%–25% likelihood of a missed cancer. In 1998, a Smilow Center physician was the first to describe the routine use of 12 cores rather than six (Levine MA, Ittman M, Melamed J, Lepor H. J. Urol. 159(2):471-5 (1998)). This allowed for the detection of more prostate cancers, with fewer false negatives. The use of 10 to 12 cores has now become a national standard of care to provide an acceptable false negative rate, thereby reducing the need for repetitive negative biopsies. The number of cores may vary in special circumstances. If an abnormality is seen on ultrasound or by a Doppler study, additional cores may be taken from that specific site. At the Smilow Cent
