Interesting part of the article posted on PSA regarding even the biopsy reliability.
When men get an elevated PSA result, ruling out cancer requires extracting a piece of the prostate, a gland that weighs less than an ounce and is located below the bladder and in front of the rectum. It secretes fluid that helps semen travel during ejaculation.
The biopsy, a procedure most often done using a needle pushed through the wall of the rectum, costs about $2,400, according to Elizabeth Streich, a spokeswoman for Columbia University Medical Center in New York. In a biopsy, a surgeon removes a tiny piece of prostate tissue so that doctors can examine cells under a microscope for the presence, type and aggressiveness of cancer.
A biopsy’s reliability can also be questionable because it “is prone to being subjective, according to who reads the slide,” Srivastava said.