Diagnostics - Introduction
Early precaution
More than 70 percent of prostate carcinomas can be detected and cured at an early stage by means of targeted preventive examinations. Once a year, every man over the age of 40 should have a cancer screening examination performed by an urologist. The highest level of safety in diagnosing prostate carcinoma at an early stage is currently provided by the combination of the two:
Control of the PSA value in the blood (PSA: prostate specific antigen) Touch examination of the prostate gland Ultrasound examination with a high-resolution colour duplex ultrasound device of the latest generation (colour duplex sonography)
Reliable diagnosis of prostate cancer
Precise detection and biopsy of tumor foci
If the preventive medical check-ups reveal a suspicion of prostate cancer, a tissue sample (prostate biopsy) is often required for confirmation. A precise determination of the size, spread and malignancy of a tumor in the prostate is crucial for optimal therapy planning. The West German Prostate Center at the KLINIK am RING performs the sample collection with the most modern and very precise technique of MRI-supported prostate biopsy (fusion therapy). Areas that have been identified as "suspected tumors" in a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan are biopsied precisely in the subsequent tissue removal. We can perform the biopsy both transrectally through the rectum (transrectal biopsy) and perineally through the patient's perineum (perineal biopsy).
Classification of the tumor stage
If prostate cancer is actually diagnosed, the aggressiveness and spread of the tumour must be precisely determined. Only then can the optimal therapy recommendation be made with the best possible chances of recovery. The WPZ offers various methods for the exact classification of the tumour stage:
