Description: SUNDAY, Oct. 7 (HealthDay News) -- For several years, doctors have debated the value of the prostate-specific antigen test to determine a man's risk for prostate cancer.

But now, a consensus seems to be emerging -- it's not the level of the antigen in the blood that helps predict the likelihood of aggressive disease, but whether that level is rising rapidly or not.

Men with prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels that are growing rapidly -- even if those levels are still low -- should consider themselves at increased risk, said Howard Soules, executive vice president for the Prostate Cancer Foundation, the world's largest philanthropic source of support for prostate cancer research.

"Right now, if your PSA velocity is going up at an extreme rate, you need some additional monitoring for prostate cancer," Soules said.

The prostate gland, which produces seminal fluid, is part of the male reproductive system and is located in front of the rectum and under the bladder. It surroun