Cognitive versus Software-Assisted Registration: Development of a New Nomogram Predicting Prostate Cancer at MRI-Targeted Biopsies

Introduction: Multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging (mpMRI) is gaining acceptance to guide targeted biopsy (TB) in prostate cancer (PC) diagnosis. We aimed to compare the detection rate of software-assisted fusion TB (SA-TB) versus cognitive fusion TB (COG-TB) for PC and to evaluate potential clinical features in detecting PC and clinically significant PC (csPC) at TB. Patients and Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study of patients with rising and/or persistently elevated prostate-specific antigen (PSA) undergoing mpMRI followed by either transperineal SA-TB or transrectal COG-TB. The analysis showed a matched-paired analysis between SA-TB versus COG-TB without differences in clinical or radiological characteristics. Differences among detection of PC/csPC among groups were analyzed. A multivariable logistic regression model predicting PC at TB was fitted. The model was evaluated using the receiver operating characteristic-derived area under the curve, goodness of fit test, and decision-curve analyses. Results: One hundred ninety-one and 87 patients underwent SA-TB or COG-TB, respectively. The multivariate logistic analysis showed that SA-TB was associated with overall PC (odds ratio [OR], 5.70; P <.01) and PC at TB (OR, 3.00; P <.01) but not with overall csPC (P =.40) and csPC at TB (P =.40). A nomogram predicting PC at TB was constructed using the Prostate Imaging Reporting and Data System version 2.0, age, PSA density and biopsy technique, showing improved clinical risk prediction against a threshold probability of 10% with a c-index of 0.83. Conclusion: In patients with suspected PC, software-assisted biopsy detects most cancers and outperforms the cognitive approach in targeting magnetic resonance imaging-visible lesions. Furthermore, we introduced a prebiopsy nomogram for the probability of PC in TB. Multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging is gaining acceptance to guide targeted biopsy (TB) in prostate cancer (PC) diagnosis. However, there is no comparison between software-assisted fusion TB (SA-TB) and cognitive fusion TB (COG-TB). We aimed to compare the detection rate of SA-TB versus COG-TB for PC and to evaluate potential clinical features in detecting PC and clinically significant PC at TB.