(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- PSA levels appear to be more predictive of three-year prostate cancer risk in African American men compared with Caucasian men with a family history of prostate cancer, according to a new study.

"It was previously thought that PSA levels were just naturally higher in African American men, suggesting a need to possibly adjust the threshold upward before recommending a biopsy," said Veda Giri, M.D., director of the Prostate Cancer Risk Assessment Program at Fox Chase Cancer Center.

Biopsies are currently recommended for men when their PSA levels are above 4 ng/mL.

For this study, researchers at the University of Chicago observed 646 high-risk men, 63 percent of whom were African American. Researchers said they found no "race specific" differences in PSA levels when race was measured using genetic markers of ancestry or reported by participants.

Researchers then analyzed men with a PSA between 1.5 and 4 ng/mL. They found that among men with a family history of prostate cancer, PSA levels had the same predictive value whether the men were white or black.

"African American men and men with a family history of prostate cancer should be encouraged to participate in early detection studies to define personalized screening strategies that may diagnose prostate cancer at a curable point," Giri said.

SOURCE: Cancer Prevention Research, 2009