Transrectal sonoelastography in the detection of prostate cancers: A meta-analysis

Abstract

OBJECTIVE. • To assess the overall accuracy of transrectal sonoelastography (TRSE) targeted biopsy in the diagnosis of patients suspected of having prostate cancer (PCa). METHODS: • A systematic search of electronic databases, including PubMed, Embase and The Cochrane Library, and manual bibliography searches were performed. • All relevant studies assessing the diagnostic accuracy of TRSE in PCa detection were included in our meta-analysis. • The data were pooled and sensitivity, specificity, area under the curve (AUC), positive likelihood ratio (LR) and negative LR were calculated. RESULTS: • Pooled patient data analysis: the pooled (95% confidential intervals [ 95% CI ] ) sensitivity of TRSE targeted biopsy in patients suspected of having PCa was 62 (55 - 68) %; specificity was 79% (74 - 84%); AUC was 0.7696; positive LR was 2.92 (2.28 - 3.74); and negative LR was 0.49 (0.41 - 0.59). • Pooled core data analysis: pooled (95% CI) sensitivity, specificity, positive LR and negative LR were 34% (30 - 38%), 93% (91 - 95%), 5.07 (3.91 - 6.57) and 0.71 (0.66 - 0.75), respectively. CONCLUSION: • Transrectal sonoelastography is a promising technique in PCa detection and can be considered to be a valuable supplemental method to systemic biopsy. © 2012 BJU International.