What's risky about a PSA test?

You may wonder how getting a test for prostate cancer could have a downside. After all, there's little risk involved in the test itself — it requires simply drawing blood for evaluation in a lab.

However, there are some potential downsides once the results are in. These include:

• Elevated PSA levels can have other causes, such as benign prostate enlargement (benign prostatic hyperplasia) or prostate infection (prostatitis). These false-positives are common.
• Some prostate cancers may not produce much PSA. It's possible to have what's known as a "false-negative" — a test result that incorrectly indicates you don't have prostate cancer when you do.
• Follow-up tests to check out the cause of an elevated PSA test can be invasive, stressful, expensive or time-consuming.
• Living with a slow-growing prostate cancer that doesn't need treatment might cause stress and anxiety.