The American Cancer Society says average-risk men should get PSA blood tests every two years between ages 50 and 69, while high-risk men should have annual screening starting at 45.
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The American Cancer Society says middle-aged men should undergo routine prostate cancer screening with PSA blood tests, in a guideline update released Thursday.
The society advises men at average risk to get a PSA test every two years from ages 50 to 69.
For men at high risk—including Black men and those with a strong family history of prostate cancer—the cancer society recommends yearly PSA checks starting at age 45.
The PSA test measures prostate-specific antigen, a protein produced by both normal and cancerous prostate cells, meaning higher levels can also reflect benign enlargement or a temporary increase after vigorous exercise.
The updated guidance represents a shift from earlier advice: since 2010, the society had recommended that average-risk men talk with their doctors about whether to pursue regular PSA testing.
The change follows updated understanding of PSA screening benefits and potential ways to reduce harms, including repeating a PSA test to confirm a true elevation and adding an MRI scan to help identify who should have a biopsy.
The guideline says that starting at age 70, men should discuss with their doctors whether continuing routine PSA screening is beneficial, and it discourages screening for men 80 and older.
It also advises against routine PSA screening for any age group where a man is not expected to live another 10 years due to other health problems.
The American Cancer Society estimates that more than 333,000 men in the U.S. will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2026 and about 36,000 will die from the disease.
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