According to a study, men aged 75 and over in Australia are unnecessarily being tested for prostate cancer.

The new study by the Cancer Council found that the testing men aged 75 and over is not in line with the global recommendations and guidelines. The study says that about a fifth of the men do not need to be tested.

The study spanning five years also found that treatments are having side-effects like incontinence, impotence and fatigue. The method of testing through as the prostate specific antigen (PSA) blood test is being debated around the world. Cancer Council said that international guidelines say that it is unnecessary to test men 75 and over.

Cancer Council spokeswoman Professor Dianne O'Connell said that as men get older they are more likely to have some prostate cancer.

"So if you go looking for it you'll find it, but they would have been more likely to have died with that prostate cancer than from that prostate cancer. They can be slow-growing, they can be to no particular detrimental outcome. Also, as people age they have other conditions that are probably more likely to shorten their lives than the prostate cancer," she said.

She said that if a man above 75 decides to get a surgery, then the complications can arise that are worse than the prostate cancer itself. She said she does not understand why so many older men are being tested.

The Australian Medical Association (AMA) has said that it agrees with the view that testing could be more harmful than good.