The availability of increasingly sensitive testing devices has created a debate over when men should be tested for prostate cancer, how often, and whether men under 50 with no symptoms should be routinely screened. Opponents say mass screening would be expensive, and the verdict is still out on whether early detection can curb the disease's mortality rate. But proponents say early detection is the closest thing currently to a cure and that it can save lives. Besides being thrown off by noncancerous conditions, the tests can vary between manufacturers. Doctors then may take biopsies of various sectors of the prostate using tiny hollow needles inserted through the rectum.
Biopsies are the only definitive way to determine if prostate cancer is present.
Staging also depends on the extent and location of cancer outside the confines of the prostate. Usually discovered by PSA tests or biopsies. Stage T2 Tumor is confined to prostate and can be detected by DRE or ultrasound. In stage T3, the cancer has spread to tissue adjacent to the prostate or to the seminal vesicles. Stage T4 tumors have spread to organs near the prostate, such as the bladder.