Prostate Biopsy

The trial aims to find out if using a robotic system to help perform prostate biopsies is better than having a highly experienced doctor perform the biopsy by hand in men with a high Body Mass Index (BMI). While MRI-guided prostate biopsies are highly effective, carrying them out in men with obesity can be physically challenging for doctors. Extra pelvic tissue increases the depth the biopsy needle must travel and makes it difficult to manually hold the ultrasound probe perfectly steady. This physical difficulty might cause doctors to miss some aggressive prostate cancers. This study tests whether a robotic arm-which completely locks the biopsy needle on target and eliminates human hand tremors-can improve cancer detection. The study will enroll up to 570 men with high BMI who have suspicious areas on their prostate MRI. Participants will be randomly assigned to receive either a robotic-assisted biopsy or a standard manual biopsy performed by an expert urologist. To ensure the results are completely unbiased, participants will not know which method is being used on them. They will be placed behind a surgical drape and wear noise-canceling headphones playing music during the procedure to block out the sounds of the robotic motors. The main goal is to see if the robotic method safely and significantly increases the detection rate of clinically significant prostate cancer in this specific group of patients.

Transperineal prostate biopsy is a safe and effective method of diagnosing prostate cancer. When performed under local anaesthesia in an outpatient setting, it can cause significant pain, particularly during the periprostatic nerve block - the injection of local anaesthetic around the prostate. Better pain management during this procedure may improve patient comfort and encourage wider use of the transperineal approach. Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) is a non-invasive, low-cost method of pain relief that works by delivering mild electrical impulses through the skin. A preceding pilot study at our centre (n=84) found that TENS used alongside local anaesthesia was associated with significantly lower pain scores during periprostatic nerve block and biopsy sampling, with no device-related complications. This study aims to confirm these findings in a larger, formally powered, triple-blind, randomized controlled trial. Participants will be randomly assigned to receive either active TENS or sham TENS (electrodes applied but no electrical current delivered) in addition to standard local anaesthesia. Neither the participant, the operating urologist, nor the nurse recording pain scores will know which group the participant is in. Pain intensity will be assessed at four stages of the procedure using a 0-10 numeric rating scale. Participants will be followed up at 30 days after the biopsy.

Hematuria (up to 50%) and rectal bleeding (up to 30%) are common complications following transrectal ultrasound-guided prostate biopsy. Although most cases are mild, some require additional intervention. Short-duration compression has been shown to achieve hemostasis in cases of post-biopsy bleeding, suggesting that routine probe compression may reduce bleeding complications. Post-biopsy bleeding may also be associated with an increased risk of subsequent infection. This randomized controlled trial aims to evaluate the effect of routine probe compression and compression duration after transrectal prostate biopsy on bleeding and infectious complications.

Though the efficacy of VRH is documented in various outpatient urological procedures and has provided promising preliminary information in prostate biopsy, its systematic use in urology remains poorly studied. Considering the potential of invasive urological procedures to induce significant patient discomfort, the application of innovative immersive approaches, such as those offered by medical devices, could lead to an overall clinical benefit. Among these, REALICA® (available from https://REALICA.io/en/), a class I CE medical device, widely used in hospitals and validated by numerous studies, represents a valuable resource in urology, supported by high satisfaction rates received in abdominal surgery and extracorporeal lithotripsy

This is an open label, longitudinal Phase 3 study of prostate specific membrane antigen (PSMA) positron emission tomography (PET) combined with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) compared to standard of care (SOC) for the detection of prostate cancer (PCa).

Prostate cancer is now the most common cancer in men in the Western world. In the United Kingdom (UK), there were over 52,000 new cases diagnosed in 2016-2018 and a lifetime risk of 1 in 8. Prostate cancer (PrCa) can run in some families and research studies have identified several genetic changes in Caucasian populations that are thought to increase the risk of developing prostate cancer. Other studies have shown that men from certain ethnic groups also have a higher risk of prostate cancer, and this includes men of black African or black African-Caribbean ancestry. This study aims to look at men with a higher risk of prostate cancer based on their ethnicity, family history and/or genetic predisposition to see whether any of these genetic changes are present in their DNA (genetic material) and whether this could be a helpful screening tool in prostate cancer screening programmes. It is thought that many genetic changes are involved in the development of prostate cancer and research is being carried out worldwide to identify these genetic changes. Some of these changes may cause a very slight increase in prostate cancer risk while others may cause a much larger increase in risk of developing prostate cancer. The investigators will invite (i) men of any ethnicity with a family history of prostate cancer; (ii) men of black African or black African-Caribbean ancestry; and (iii) men of any ethnicity with a known genetic predisposition to having prostate cancer (e.g., being known to have inherited a gene mutation that increases risk of prostate and/or being known to be in the top tenth percentile of the polygenic risk score (high PRS score prior to enrolment) for targeted prostate screening (Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) testing, MRI and a biopsy of the prostate gland) and genetic profiling. The outcome of these prostate cancer screening investigations will be compared with the genetic profiles of those taking part in the study in order to look for certain genetic changes in the gene code that are thought to increase prostate cancer risk. This research will help us to determine what the role of such genetic profiling is in a prostate cancer screening programme and if it helps identify men at high prostate cancer risk.

The primary objective of the study is to prospectively compare perioperative pain assessed in patients undergoing targeted prostate biopsies, either transrectally or transperineally, under local anesthesia with or without a virtual reality hypnosis headset. The study was sized based on a mean pain reduction of 1.5 points on a numerical scale (0-10 NAS), with an estimate of procedure-related pain of 4.0 on the NAS scale.

This study is set up as a phase I prospective, single center, device interventional pilot study carried in office setting under local anesthesia. It will assess the tolerance and safety of target fusion ablation of prostate cancer tumors using Laser Induced Thermal Therapy (TFA-LITT) guided by fusion imaging in men 50 to 80 years of age with low to intermediate risk prostate cancer Prostate Cancer is currently managed with in a discrete fashion where patients either enroll in active surveillance protocols (No intervention) or undergo full intervention via whole gland treatments - most commonly radical surgery or radiation. These treatments have not shown definitive gains in all cause survival and not uncommonly harbor undesirable adverse effects, most notably: impotency and incontinence. Such events elicit significant and noticeable changes on a male lifestyle and for most prostate cancer tumors are considered overtreatment. This study aims to evaluate the use of TFA-LITT in the office setting under local anesthesia - greatly decreasing patient perioperative surgical risk - focused on the organ sparing cancer lesion ablation, where organ function is preserved. The fundamental objective is to determine the tolerance and safety of TFA-LITT in men with low to intermediate risk prostate cancer, successful performed in the outpatient office-based setting under local anesthesia directed by fusion imaging. Secondary objectives include: 1-Biopsy proven cancer control of ablated areas 12 months after procedure; 2-Uroflowmetry and urinary function Patient Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs) at one, three, six, nine and 12 months; 3- Sexual function Patient Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs) at one, three, six, nine and 12 months; 4- MRI changes of ablated area one, three and 12 months after TFA-LITT; 5- Absence or presence of ejaculation after TFA-LITT.