Beyond the Biopsy: UC-Care's Comprehensive Approach to Prostate Cancer Treatment Planning and Management

The MRI fusion-guided biopsy of the future takes biopsies from collection, to analysis, to treatment planning, and provides numerous benefits to patients and clinicians alike.

Central to diagnosis, the prostate cancer biopsy serves as the only definitive way to confirm the presence of cancer cells and assess the grade of the cancer. It also serves as the only way to determine treatment options.1 While ultrasound-guided biopsies sat center stage in prostate cancer diagnosis for nearly three decades, MRI-guided biopsies – with their enhanced accuracy and sensitivity – have become the gold standard for prostate cancer biopsies.2

However, traditional prostate biopsy workflows – even those for most MRI fusion-guided biopsies – present challenges:

1. Current treatment planning challenges: Because traditional processes only focus on cancer diagnosis, the workflow may inadvertently overlook the importance of preserving tissue integrity and orientation for comprehensive analysis. This limitation leads to challenges in treatment planning and active surveillance.

2. Accurate recordkeeping of all biopsies and cancer location within cores: Since most fusion systems have no automated biopsy marking capability, the only biopsies that are marked are those in the regions of interest. The systematic biopsies do not get marked because the process for stopping and identifying the exact needle location and manually marking the biopsy is cumbersome and slows the procedure. This creates limitations for focal treatment planning and active surveillance as the exact location of the biopsy is not known.

To address the process challenges of traditional MRI fusion-guided biopsies, the Navigo 4D Fusion Navigation System integrates with the SmartBx Biopsy Management System to create a fully integrated prostate cancer management workflow. By integrating automated biopsy marking of all specimens and preserving specimens from the needle to the pathology slide, the system takes prostate cancer care to the next level.3

The Mechanics of Navigo’s Comprehensive Approach

4D Accuracy and Precision

Like other fusion systems, Navigo uses 3-D MRI-US fusion-guided biopsy to deliver an accurate picture of regions of interest that could harbor cancer. In addition, unlike any other system, it adds a fourth dimension with real-time patient movement compensation.

Patients move during biopsy procedures, but Navigo bypasses the need for manual recalibration each time the patient moves, and automatically ensures the exact biopsy needle location is accurate at all times. With Navigo, there is no stopping to capture the image. No extra hand or foot pedal needed. Our patented biopsy software captures every single biopsy in the moment for superior recordkeeping, treatment planning and active surveillance.

This sets Navigo apart from traditional fusion navigation systems by providing higher levels of precision diagnosis, specifically:

• Targeted sampling and reduced variability: Navigo’s unique and patented ability to compensate for patient motion in real-time, and its real-time needle tracking capability without stopping and adjusting, improves biopsy accuracy and process efficiency.

• Automated biopsy marking: The value in having every single biopsy marked enables more rigorous and precise focal treatment planning and active surveillance – especially in cases where systematic biopsy(ies) come back positive for cancer.

After the biopsy needle extracts tissue samples under Navigo's guidance, the specimens are transferred directly to the SmartBx cassette, which provides another level of data accuracy.

How SmartBx™ Boosts Cancer Detection and Precision

Most current biopsy processing methods do not preserve location or orientation. Additionally, up to 40% of tissue can be damaged or completely lost during processing. The SmartBx Biopsy Management System is a biopsy collection method that aids accurate diagnosis in the following ways:

• Preserves up to 30% more tissue: Each biopsy specimen retains its exact core configuration from the biopsy needle to the pathology slide for analysis, increasing cancer detection by 25%.4

• Maintains anatomical context: Due to the way in which it protects samples and keeps the exact core orientation, it enables the precise location of the tumor(s) within the core to be identified, which can improve staging, treatment planning and active surveillance capabilities.

The Power of an Integrated System

Combining Navigo 4D and SmartBx™ creates a fully integrated prostate cancer management workflow. Benefits include:

• Improved record-keeping: The integrated workflow from collection to diagnosis supports high-quality patient records, enabling clinicians to track entire biopsy history and monitor disease progression more accurately and easily during active surveillance.

• Streamlined treatment planning: The high-quality biopsy records and increased detection and precision of SmartBx support tailored treatment decisions and more precise and accurate focal treatment.

By using Navigo 4D and SmartBx™ hand-in-hand, physicians gain the benefits of 4D fusion navigation combined with the benefits of superior biopsy collection and analysis – thus moving the needle on what’s possible in prostate cancer diagnostics, treatment and management.

To explore UC-Care’s truly affordable integrated solutions further, schedule a discovery call. We look forward to partnering with you to improve patient outcomes, operational efficiency, and financial sustainability.

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Sources

1. Prostate Biopsy. (2024, June 4). Hopkinsmedicine.org. http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/treatment-tests-and-therapies/prostate-biopsy

2. Lehtonen M, Kellokumpu-Lehtinen P-L. The past and present of prostate cancer and its treatment and diagnostics: A historical review. SAGE Open Medicine. 2023;11. doi:10.1177/20503121231216837

3. Marks L, Young S, Natarajan S. MRI-ultrasound fusion for guidance of targeted prostate biopsy. Curr Opin Urol. 2013;23(1):43-50.

4. Lavi N, et al. MRI-targeted prostate biopsy: Outcomes and accuracy. Urology. 2021;00:1-7. Published online November 11, 2021.