Prostate biopsy has been linked to pain, anxiety and complications. A prostate biopsy is an invasive test that confirms a diagnosis of cancer if you suspect an increase in serum PSA. The biopsy is performed with special needles, taking pieces of prostate tissue and examining them in the laboratory. Because the biopsy removes very small amounts of prostate tissue (less than 1% of the prostate volume), the cancer may not be diagnosed simply because it has been 'missed'. An invasive prostate biopsy procedure can lead to complications such as infections, sepsis, haematuria. Blood serum PSA levels may be elevated for a variety of non-cancerous reasons, such as inflammation, physical activity etc. For these reasons, about half of the biopsies performed are negative: as many as 65-75 % of first-time biopsies and 10-35 % of repeated biopsies are negative. An accurate prognosis after a non-invasive prostate cancer biomarker test can protect you from a potentially unnecessary prostate biopsy!