title: Value of systematic transition zone biopsies in the early detection of prostate cancer.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  A prospective study was done to determine the value of performing 2 systematic transition zone biopsies in addition to systematic sextant peripheral zone biopsies for early detection of prostate cancer.
  
  
  METHODS
  From January 1 to August 31, 1994 we evaluated 847 consecutive patients referred to us for a suspicious lesion on digital rectal examination or an elevated serum prostate specific antigen level. All patients underwent 2 systematic transition zone biopsies in addition to systematic sextant biopsies of the peripheral zone.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the transition zone biopsies 68 (24.4%) contained malignancy, including only 8 (2.9%) with cancer found exclusively in the transition zone. The remaining 271 cases (97.1%) had 1 or more positive peripheral zone biopsies and would have been detected with or without additional systematic transition zone biopsies. The same analysis of 552 patients with a negative digital rectal examination yielded 6 (4.1%) exclusively transition zone tumors among 145 cancers detected in this group.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The low additional yield of transition zone biopsies (2.9 to 4.1%) does not warrant their systematic use for the early detection of prostate cancer.
authors.affiliation: UROMED Prostate Cancer Detection Center, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bazinet
authors.forename: P I
authors.initials: PI
authors.lastname: Karakiewicz
authors.forename: A G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Aprikian
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Trudel
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Aronson
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nachabé
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Péloquin
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Dessureault
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Goyal
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.forename: L R
authors.initials: LR
authors.lastname: Bégin
authors.forename: M M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Elhilali
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001706:Biopsy; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D017430:Prostate-Specific Antigen / Q000097:blood; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms / Q000097:blood / Q000473:pathology*; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D017430:Prostate-Specific Antigen