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Medical experts call for update to PSA testing guidelines

Category: Prostate

Following the release of a recent study, which found that men over 70 are at much higher risk of developing prostate cancer, experts hope that PSA testing guidelines will soon be revised to reflect the growing understanding that risk increases with age.

The study was conducted by researchers at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, DC and published in Journal of Urology. It found that men over age 70 are much more likely to develop aggressive, potentially deadly prostate growths.

Dr. David Samadi, vice chairman of the department of urology at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York, said that more men in this age group should consider seeking PSA testing in light of these new findings.

"I'm very hopeful that the findings could lead to revised testing guidelines for PSAs which are currently the best diagnostic tool for the disease," he said. "The findings show that as men get older, parameters consistent with more aggressive prostate cancer become prevalent."

He added that PSA testing is generally accepted to be the most accurate measure of a man's prostate cancer risk.