American Cancer Society Urges Prostate Screening Every 2 Years From 50
The American Cancer Society updated its prostate cancer guidelines on Thursday, urging screening every two years from age 50 for average-risk men and annually from 45 for Black men and those with strong family history. It replaces a 2010 approach built on individual discussion.
The American Cancer Society on Thursday, November 12, 2026, updated its prostate cancer screening guidelines with a clear recommendation men get tested: every two years starting at age 50 for men at average risk. Black men and men with a strong family history should start annual screening at 45.
The update appears in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians. It is a significant shift from the previous guidance, published in 2010, which stressed "informed decision-making" and urged men to discuss screening with a health care provider.
Why the advice changed
Dr. William Dahut, the society's chief scientific officer, said the benefits of screening were not clear in 2010. Since then, he said, doctors have worked to reduce the harms of testing. Long-term studies, mostly in Europe, now show lower prostate cancer deaths among men screened every two years.
The society says the evidence is now stronger that screening with a PSA test significantly reduces the risk of dying from the disease.
"We're hopeful with this recommendation that men seriously consider being screened for prostate cancer as we outline in our guidelines," Dahut said. At age 70, he added, men return to individual decision-making.
Dr. Neeraj Agarwal, a medical oncologist at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute/Harvard Cancer Center who was not involved in the update, said the old approach left many men without the test. "Leaving it to each patient and doctor meant a lot of men were simply never offered the test. A clear recommendation fixes that," he said.
What the PSA test shows
The PSA test measures prostate-specific antigen, a protein made by the prostate gland, in a blood sample. It is the main and most common screening tool. High levels can signal cancer, but an enlarged prostate or, less likely, a prostate infection can also raise them.
The guideline defines an abnormal result as 3 nanograms per milliliter or higher for men 69 and younger. For men 70 to 74, the threshold is 6.5 ng/mL or higher.
Dr. Yaw Nyame of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center served on the expert panel that reviewed the update. "Your first PSA can be really powerful, especially when obtained in your 40s and 50s. It establishes a baseline," he said. A first result under 1 ng/mL, he said, means a much lower lifetime risk.
Rising diagnoses
Prostate cancer is the second-leading cause of cancer death among men in the US, behind only lung cancer. Diagnoses rose about 3% per year from 2014 through 2022, and more late-stage cancers were found over that period.
Dahut said the increase has been driven mainly by men with advanced disease. Many physicians warn that too many cases are still found after the cancer has become harder to treat.
