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Many Prostate Biopsies Unnecessary

The May 28 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association reports that as many as half of the biopsies performed to detect prostate cancer may be unnecessary.

The problem? The blood test that doctors use to decide whether or not to do biopsies can fluctuate from normal to abnormal and back again over short periods of time.

The test is the Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) test, which measures a protein that is often elevated in men with prostate cancer.

According to the author it’s a good idea to recheck a PSA level at least six weeks after a positive test before suggesting a biopsy. “A single abnormal PSA level should be viewed with caution,” the author says. Retesting should be done “before expensive or invasive tests, such as prostate biopsy, are recommended.”

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