Description: Surgery for prostate cancer can be safe and worthwhile for older men above the traditional cutoff age of 70.

That's the conclusion of emerging research that calls into question the traditional view that men should be denied the surgery based on advanced age alone.

Dr. Shabbir M.H. Alibhai, a scientist at University Health Network and the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute in Canada, published a study last year evaluating the effect of radical prostatectomy -- removal of the prostate gland -- among more than 11,000 men in Ontario. The finding: In otherwise healthy older men up to age 79, the risk of death after this surgery is relatively low.

Alibhai thinks the study, because it was carefully done and included a large sample size, is beginning to change medical practice.

"We are finding surgeons are less cautious in thinking about this surgery for men over age 70," said Alibhai. "People are being a little bit more scientific about this thing