Undergoing prostrate cancer biopsies, which take only 15 minutes, has become more hazardous for men, according to a recent research in the U.S.

The needle that takes bacteria from the part of the intestine into the prostrate, bladder and bloodstream can cause infection and the males who get these laboratory examinations have more chances of being hospitalized than those who were not subjected to any tests at all.

The study was a collaborative effort by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the U.S. National Institutes of Health, American Urological Association Astellas Research Star Award, and the Patrick C. Walsh Prostate Cancer Research Fund at John Hopkins based on a report from Bloomberg.

The study considered data from 150,000 Medicare patients, aged 65 years and older from 1991 to 2007.

The results of the analysis revealed that there was a hospitalization rate of 6.9 percent in 1 month after the procedure compared to 2.9 percent who never received the treatment.

"Prostate biopsy is a vital methodology used to detect prostate cancer but it is necessary to be informed about its risks," said Edward Schaeffer, the senior researcher of this study and a renowned oncologist and urologist.

"The spread of drug-resistant germs may be the reason for this," revealed Schaeffer.

Incidentally, the overall hospitalization rate has decreased since1991 but the percentage of men who acquired serious contamination went up by 1.2 percent in 2007.

Prescriptions of antibiotics are given to those who undergo the biopsy.

Studies in the past showed that a small percentage of males who underwent the test became seriously ill and eventually perished because of bacterial infections.

However, the contemporary research did not confirm any danger of mortality.

The American Cancer Society pointed out to prostate cancer as the second-leading reason for cancer deaths among men.