Needle core length in sextant biopsy influences prostate cancer detection rate.

Objectives: Prostate cancer detection in biopsies increases with the number of sites and total tissue sampled. Its dependence on needle core fragment length is uncertain.

Methods: We surveyed two consecutive series of sextant needle biopsies from two practices in 1998 to 2000: 251 patients from Pennsylvania (group P) and 1596 from Virginia (group V).