Key facts
- The American Cancer Society recommends PSA blood tests every two years for average-risk men ages 50 to 69.
- Annual screening is recommended for men with a family history of prostate cancer, the ACS said.
- For Black men, the ACS recommends annual screening from ages 45 to 69.
- The ACS said Black men have a 67% higher prostate cancer incidence and nearly double the mortality rate versus white men.
- The guideline calls for a repeat blood test and an MRI study before a biopsy is scheduled.
- Men with low-risk prostate cancer should initially be offered close monitoring rather than active treatment, the ACS said.
The American Cancer Society said on November 12, 2026 that it now advises routine prostate cancer screening for many men, replacing a 2010 guideline that told men to decide for themselves after talking with their doctors.
The updated guideline recommends a blood test measuring prostate-specific antigen, or PSA, every two years for average-risk men ages 50 to 69, and annual screening for men with a family history of prostate cancer. For Black men, it recommends annual screening from ages 45 to 69. The ACS said Black men have a 67% higher incidence of prostate cancer and nearly double the mortality rate compared with white men.
"Back in 2010, we actually didn't have a strong opinion on whether or not one should be screened," ACS Chief Scientific Officer Dr. William Dahut said in an interview. "It was unclear at that point whether the potential harms outweighed the benefits."
The ACS said an estimated 333,830 US men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2026 and an estimated 36,320 men will die of the disease. Dahut said the aim is also to help reduce prostate cancer disparities and ease the disease burden.
For men ages 70 to 74, the balance of benefits and harms remains uncertain and they should discuss screening with their doctors, according to the guideline. Screening is not recommended for men 75 and older, though some very healthy men ages 75 to 79 may want to continue, especially if their PSA level has been rising on previous tests. It is not recommended for men 80 and older or for men not expected to live another 10 years.
The ACS said the changes, detailed in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians, reflect stronger evidence for PSA-based screening and wider use of management strategies that reduce harms such as unnecessary biopsies and treatment side effects. The guideline still says men should receive information about risks and benefits before testing, and now calls for a repeat blood test and a magnetic resonance imaging study before a biopsy is scheduled. Men diagnosed with low-risk prostate cancer should initially be offered close monitoring rather than active treatment, it says.
Dahut said doctors have become much better at distinguishing high-risk prostate cancer from cases where treatment can safely be delayed, and that treatments have fewer side effects, robotic surgery has raised the quality of care, and radiation treatments are more targeted.