Description: SUNDAY, May 20 (HealthDay News) -- Exposure four decades ago to Agent Orange in the Vietnam War appears to boost veterans' risk for a recurrence of prostate cancer even after the organ is surgically removed, a new study shows.

And if the cancer does return, it tends to be more aggressive among veterans exposed to Agent Orange than in those not exposed to the chemical defoliant, the researchers found.

Black veterans are especially vulnerable to these tough-to-treat recurrences, the researchers said.

"This means that we need to make sure that these patients are not lost to follow-up, that their PSAs [prostate specific antigen levels] are checked regularly and that Vietnam veterans are screened aggressively for prostate cancer," said lead researcher Dr. Sagar Shah, a urology resident physician at the Medical College of Georgia. "The quicker that we catch [a recurrence], the more treatment options we have."

Shah's team was to present its findings Sunday at the annual meeting of