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American men have new recommendations to get screened more often for prostate cancer, the American Cancer Society announced.
The new guidelines recommend that most men aged 50-69 should get a screening blood test every other year. Those in high-risk groups - including those with a family history of prostate cancer and Black men - should get tested at age 45. Past guidance said men should make their own informed decisions about blood testing.
The updates reflect findings that screening using blood tests - known as prostate-specific antigen or “PSA” tests - “significantly reduces prostate cancer mortality and diagnosis of advanced-stage disease,” the organization said.
Prostate cancer is the second most common cause of cancer deaths in U.S. men, and will lead to an estimated 36,000 deaths and 333,000 cases this year.
While these blood tests have been available for decades, there is now more evidence proving the benefits of taking them than when prior guidelines were published in 2010, Dr. Robert Smith, director at the Center for Early Cancer Detection, explained in a statement.
The updated guidance cited a 2025 European study in men aged 55-69 who received PSA testing, concluding prostate cancer deaths were 13 percent lower in those who were…
