A guide to MRI Fusion Vector prostate biopsy

By Mr Christof Kastner
Urology

Christof Kastner is an internationally-recognised consultant urologist based at the Nuffield Health Hospital, the GenesisCare Centre and Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge and at the Nuffield Health at St Bartholomew’s Hospital in London. He is affiliated Associate Professor at the University of Cambridge. He specialises in the assessment and treatment of benign and cancerous prostatic disease.

He is one of the pioneers of MRI Fusion technology in the UK. With Professor Barrett, one of the world leading MRI prostate radiologists from Cambridge, he offers a prostate cancer assessment pathway with the highest detection rate published in the literature whilst providing patient comfort and certainty. 

With his clinical and technical expertise, Mr Kastner has driven the development of MRI Fusion Vector prostate biopsies, which has minimal side effects and is easily sustained under local anaesthesia. This is a new minimally invasive diagnostic technique that uses electromagnetic needle tracking to aim at abnormal areas identified by the prostate MRI. The accuracy of this technique and the resulting certainty of his diagnosis enables Mr Kastner to counsel and inform his patients with confidence on all the treatment options available. Read about a case here.

In addition to precision diagnosis, Mr Kastner provides state-of-the-art prostate cancer treatments, including:
• Brachytherapy for prostate cancer: Mr Kastner has experience in more than 1,000 cases of brachytherapy, providing high precision insertion of radioactive seeds with minimal side effects. For suitable patients, the application of Focal treatment in combination with radiotherapy is also possible.
• Spacer GEL injection: With minimal side effects, this procedure temporarily increases the distance between the prostate and the bowel, reducing the side effects of prostate radiotherapy.
• Holmium Laser Enucleation of Prostate (HoLEP): Mr Kastner offers HoLEP for patients with symptoms of obstructive enlargement of the prostate (lower urinary tract symptoms or benign prostatic hyperplasia). He has performed over 1,000 HoLEPS since 2007.

Mr Kastner qualified from RWTH Aachen University before moving to the UK, where he completed his specialist training and prostate cancer fellowships at London’s leading centres, including Guy’s Hospital, UCL and Imperial College, and at the Prostate Centre in Guildford. He obtained his FEBU from the European Board of Urology in 2008 and became a consultant in 2009.

Besides his highly-sought urologist practice, Prof Kastner is a senior author of numerous publications, which have changed the approach to prostate cancer assessment worldwide and have been marked as leading, high-quality urology findings, top in their field of expertise. His collaboration with his radiology partners also included a post as Professor of Urology in Rome between 2016 and 2021, where Mr Kastner delivered medical lectures, supervised trainees and developed clinical pathways for urology. 

Overall assessment of their patients