Humanitas is among the first hospitals in Italy and the first in Lombardy to adopt a technique that allows complete biopsies of the prostate to be performed, by integrating MRI and ultrasound imaging.
What is fusion guided biopsy?
Fusion guided biopsy is a technique that uses a combination of MRI and ultrasound imaging to guide biopsies for prostate cancer in suspected areas which have failed to be examined. Fusion guided biopsy has been successfully used the Humanitas Urology team lead by Prof. Giorgio Guazzoni and has allowed precise targeting of areas highlighted by the MRI, while transferring information obtained from ultrasound imaging. The result is a three-dimensional map that guides that biopsy and is useful for reconstructing in detail the location and volume of the tumor.
What has changed from the past?
In selected cases or concerns (such as in patients with previous negative biopsies but with indicators of cancerous risks), this technique allows targeted sampling, avoiding the undergoing multiple biopsies. Compared to the twelve withdrawals made on average by the surgeon, "fusion imaging" reduces withdrawals by targeting with high precision, the exact location of the tumor and rate of its growth. In the words of Prof. Giorgio Guazzoni, Head of the Urology Unit and Professor at Humanitas University- “Fusion-guided biopsy increases the accuracy and avoids having to prick the same area several times by allowing the exact area to be targeted by MRI merged with ultrasound imaging. The combination of these two images and their results can increase detection rates (fewer tumors will go unnoticed) and a reduction in the number of withdrawals (made only of those necessary). It is an innovative and unique technique to be used in Lombardy and especially important if we are to consider that prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men”.
Who is Giorgio Guazzoni?
Prof. Giorgio Guazzoni is a leading expert, on a national and international level, for clinical use of new technologies including the Da Vinci robot, which is part of the urogenital system diseases. In Humanitas, since December 2014, after 20 years in business at the Hospital San Raffaele, Prof. Guazzoni has supported all intensive clinical activity research. His interests range from minimally invasive laparoscopic treatments and robot-assisted treatments to focal therapy, the study of biochemical markers and genetic diagnosis made pathologies of cancer. He is a member of the American Urological Association, the European Association of Urology, the Italian Society of Urology and the Italian Society of Endourology. On the research front, Prof. Guazzoni conducted a major study on the adrenal glands that led him to adrenalectomy, a surgery that involves taking out one or both adrenal glands, performed first in Europe.
