Prostate Biopsy and Ultrasound of the Prostate     The urologist’s recommendation for a prostate biopsy depends on a number of factors including the digital rectal exam, total PSA level, the percent of Free PSA, age- based PSA and PSA velocity. The most common technique for prostate biopsy is called Trans-rectal Ultrasound Guided Needle Prostate Biopsy (TRUS/PNbx). A small ultrasound probe is placed in the rectum and the prostate is examined in different dimensions. The biopsy needle is passed through the ultrasound probe into the prostate, and a small piece of the prostate is sampled. Various regions within the prostate are samples via this method, resulting in multiple cores of tissue.  The number of samples and the locations of biopsy are hot topics of discussion in urologic literature. In general, six to 18 samples are obtained from the outer edges of the prostate, as well as from suspicious areas found on digital rectal or ultrasound exams.
		Prostate Doppler A prostate Doppler exam is a trans-rectal ultrasound test of the prostate which uses sound waves to determine degree of blood flow in various regions of the prostate. The theory is that areas with higher blood flow contain cancerous lesions, an association which has not yet been proven. Research on this topic has not yet proven that an ultrasound Doppler of the prostate can accurately find areas of cancer in the prostate.