Published on July 13, 2015
Updated on March 26, 2019
The latest guidelines on prostate cancer screening from the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) indicate that doctors should not recommend routine Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) tests for men of any age. To address questions that men may have about what to do, the Prevent Cancer Foundation encourages men to talk with their doctors about the risks and benefits of prostate cancer testing. Shared decision-making between men and their doctors is the best way to resolve this important health issue.
Researchers are working to improve testing to detect prostate cancer and testing to determine whether prostate cancer is likely to lead to death from the disease. There is no question that in some cases early detection of prostate cancer followed by prompt treatment saves lives. It is also clear that some men are treated for cancers that will never cause them harm, and they must live with possible side effects and complications of treatment. Currently available tests are useful but are not 100 percent accurate. It’s complicated.
To learn more about prostate cancer screening and to help you decide whether to get screened for prostate cancer, the Prevent Cancer Foundation continues to support these recommendations for the early detection of prostate cancer and recommends the American Cancer Society (ACS) Testing for Prostate Cancer guide that can be viewed or downloaded here.
