Targeted biopsy, PSA ‘choice’ among best-read articles

An update on magnetic resonance/ultrasound fusion biopsy (“targeted biopsy”), primarily focused on a recent JAMA study (2015; 313:390-7), was Urology Times’ most-read article online in March.

Use of the technique “resulted in the diagnosis of significantly more high-risk prostate cancers and significantly fewer low-risk cancers compared with a standardized biopsy technique,” UT’s Cheryl Guttman Krader reported. However, the study’s findings come with limitations, and the number of high-grade cancers missed by the technique could raise a red flag.

For more on the study, including comments from study lead author M. Minhaj Siddiqui, MD, and targeted biopsy proponent Samir Taneja, MD, click here.

Here are some other hot articles from March:

PSA testing: It's not your choice, it's the patient’s

Urologist Henry Rosevear, MD, recently diagnosed his sixth patient under 70 with metastatic prostate cancer, a trend he believes is related to decreasing use of PSA screening by primary care providers. In his latest blog post, Dr. Rosevear passionately lays out his case for the importance of a patient’s informed decision-and makes an offer to primary care providers.

Click here to read the blog post.

RARP vs. open: Costs, morbidity compared in huge study

Although some argue that the robotic-versus-open-prostatectomy debate is a dead issue, a large review presented at the 2015 Genitourinary Cancers Symposium certainly had readers’ attention in March. It also drew the interest of UT Editorial Consultant J. Brantley Thrasher, MD, who selected the abstract for coverage.

The study involved nearly 700,000 patients-“maybe the largest that we will see,” Dr. Thrasher said.

Click here to read the article.

NEXT: How to code for prostate needle biopsy

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How to code for prostate needle biopsy

If you were confused by Medicare’s recent changes regarding billing for prostate needle biopsy, urology coding experts Ray Painter, MD, and Mark Painter are here to help. In this recent installment of their “Coding Q&A” column, the Painters provide guidance on this issue and also address a query regarding split billing for urodynamics.

Click here to read the column.

Studies examine risk factors for low, high T

Testosterone replacement therapy is still very much in the headlines. At the recent Endocrine Society annual meeting, several compelling testosterone-related papers were presented, including:

• a paper that found that men with borderline testosterone levels have higher rates of depression and depressive symptoms than the general population

• a study that explored the relationship between declining reproductive hormones and decreasing sexual function in older men

• findings that could shed light on how hormone levels impact heart disease in men.

To read our report on these studies, click here.

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