I have had a steady psa of 2.5 for 5 years. I am 59 years old.  I now have an abnormal dre and my doctor is recommending a biopsy. Is if there is an alternative to a biopsy?

 

There are currently no alternatives for biopsies for the detection of prostate cancer. There is a urine test, however, named PCA3, that seems to be as much as 80% more sensitive and specific to prostate cancer than PSA. This test is not FDA approved for prostate cancer diagnosis although there a few practitioner who are legally using it as additional information, not prostate cancer diagnosis. Here is a useful link: https://web.archive.org/web/20160729190118/http://www.diagnocure.com:80/en/products-projects/prostate-cancer/pca3-test-patients.php. Regardless if you get the PCA3 test done or not, you can anticipate any urologist to recommend a biopsy.