Transrectal ultrasound in the diagnosis and staging of local disease after I125 seed implantation for prostate cancer.

A study was undertaken to assess the ability of transrectal ultrasound (TR/US), digital rectal examination (DRE), and Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA), to diagnose persistent prostate cancer following an I125 seed implant (SI). Twenty-six patients formed the study group. The median follow-up time was 38 months, and the range was 20 to 60 months. Eighty-eight percent (23/26) had suspicious lesions on TR/US, followed by ultrasound-guided biopsies. Biopsies were performed only on those patients having suspicious lesions on TR/US. Histologically proven adenocarcinoma was found in 81% (21/26) of the patients. Statistical evaluation was done using tissue obtained at biopsy as the "gold standard." The sensitivities for the DRE and PSA were 33% and 76%, respectively. The specificities for DRE and PSA were 50% and 0%, respectively. The positive predictive values for cancer were 91% by TR/US, 100% by DRE, and 89% by PSA. The negative predictive values were 13% for DRE and 0% for PSA. Overall detection rates (N = 26) were 81% for TR/US, 27% for DRE, and 62% for PSA. We conclude that ultrasound criteria for the presence of cancer are the same for both the post-irradiated prostate and the untreated prostate, and that TR/US is the most sensitive test for the diagnosis of persistent local cancer following I125 seed implantation.