Question:  My doctor have been measuring my PSA levels at my regular checkups to test for prostate cancer. I read recently the PSA test is not accurate. Very confusing. Can you shed light on this? Answer:  What you read is correct. The PSA test is not an accurate diagnostic tool for prostate cancer. That being said, the PSA test is still commonly used as a screening tool for detecting prostate cancer. Relying on the PSA to diagnose prostate cancer has led to unnecessary treatment and suffering. If your PSA is elevated, ask a lot of questions before agreeing to any kind of treatment. The American Cancer Society says, "There can be different reasons for an elevated PSA level, including prostate cancer, benign prostate enlargement, inflammation, infection, age, and race." As you can see, there are many factors that can make PSA test results confusing and lead to potentially unnecessary prostate-cancer treatments. Scientists at Stanford university studied prostate tissues collect…