New prostate cancer screening guidelines mean changes for men over 50: what to know

To screen or not to screen — that is the question.Prostate cancer is unique among major cancers in that routine screening is actually controversial.If cancer is found, it’s usually slow growing and harmless.That’s why clinicians worry about creating unnecessary anxiety and exposing patients to unnecessary treatment that can leave patients with permanent health impacts.Now, the American Cancer Society (ACS) has released new guidelines, reversing recommendations that had been in place for 16 years.For men at average risk for the disease aged 50 to 69, the organization is recommending blood tests called prostate-specific antigen (PSA) tests every two years.

But for Black men or men with a family history of prostate cancer, they recommend starting at age 45 and getting annual testing.This is a significant change from ACS’s previous advice, which was for average-risk patients to work with their doctors to decide whether to screen.One expert described the ACS’s new guidance to the Times as a “reversal.”Fortunately, most people with prostate cancer get diagnosed during an early stage — and many are cured.But over 36,000 people will die from prostate cancer this year, a vast majority from metastatic, advanced cancer.

It is the second leading cause of cancer death in men in the US, behind lung cancer.Since their last recommendations in 2010, the ACS said that stronger evidence has shown that screening for prostate cancer with a PSA blood test significantly saves lives by catching it earlier.If you’re not Black and don’t have a family history of prostate cancer, you can rely on age-related guidance:Some groups are at higher risk and should get screened every year.These include:In healthy men, small amounts of PSA are in the blood.

A PSA test — a small vial of blood drawn from the arm — can find elevated levels, which could point to prostate cancer or other conditions, like enlarged or inflamed prostates.The ACS says it’s a first step.Men with e...