New tool sharpens hunt for prostate cancer

New tool sharpens hunt for prostate cancer





Artemis guides the biopsy needle to the right location, and it has all the patient's data so it can put the needle back in the same place for future biopsies.
The procedure, which is covered by insurance, is done as an outpatient and results are available within 24 to 48 hours. As with all prostate biopsies, bleeding and urinary tract infection are possible, he said.
Springhart calls Artemis a "game changer" in the way physicians biopsy and diagnose men with prostate cancer.
"Before, we overtreated prostate cancer a lot more," he said. "Now we have more information to better differentiate between those who need surgery and those who do not."
Camunas, division chief for acute care and general surgery at GHS, said his brother underwent a radical prostatectomy after his diagnosis eight years ago.
Had this technology been available then, he said, he might not have had to.
"Rather than just doing a random ultrasound biopsy that they do in the office, they used the Artemis and detected a suspicious nodule," he said. "Probably using ultrasound-guided biopsy, they would never have hit the thing. I was blessed."