September 1, 2026
By Tammy McCausland
Because prostate cancer is the second most common type of cancer in American men—skin cancer comes in first place1—communicating the ins and outs of screening tests is an important aspect of September’s Prostate Cancer Awareness Month.2 Early detection makes a successful outcome for a cancer diagnosis more likely. Knowing your risk factors is a key consideration for when to start screening, and how often to schedule which type of testing.
According to the American Cancer Society, roughly 1 in 8 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer during their lifetime, with estimates of nearly 334,000 new cases in the United States in 2026.3 For most men, a prostate cancer diagnosis is a serious, but not deadly, health concern. Statistics from the National Cancer Institute show the five-year relative survival rate for prostate cancer between 2016 and 2022 was 98.2 percent.4
Those same statistics, however, indicate that non-Hispanic Black men have a significantly higher risk of developing prostate cancer, and are twice as likely to die of the disease.5 Another high-risk factor is family history. Although most cases of prostate cancer appear in men with no relatives who share that diagnosis, a parent or sibling with prostate cancer does increase other family members’ risk; that’s also the case for a family history of breast, pancreatic, ovarian and other cancers.6
Those considerations aside, the most common risk factor is age. Prostate cancer rarely shows up in men under the age of 40, but becomes increasingly common after 50. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 52 percent of the new prostate diagnoses in 2022 occurred in men between the ages 55 and 69, and 43 percent in 70-year-olds and above.7
Depending on risk factors, recommendations vary for when to consider an initial screening test, most likely a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood test, which is sometimes paired with a digital rectal exam. The American Cancer Society recommends that most men start screening discussions with their healthcare providers when they reach 50, but men with additional risk factors should consider screening beginning at age 40 or 45.8 The Prostate Cancer Foundation’s guidelines push that start date earlier, to 45 for most men and 40 for men at higher risk.9 Most medical guidelines suggest discontinuing screening once men reach age 70 or 75, given that it’s far less likely for any prostate cancers that develop at that age to become a serious health threat.
Results from a PSA test help guide what comes next, although the elevated PSA levels that may suggest prostate cancer could also stem from other causes, including certain medications, an infection or a benign enlarged prostate. Additional testing may be recommended at that point, starting with a repeat PSA test to rule out a false-positive result, possibly followed by imaging scans or a prostate biopsy.10
Concerns over possible complications from invasive biopsies, as well as the potential for overdiagnosis and unnecessary treatment for slow-growing prostate cancers that may never pose problems, mean testing and treatment decisions must be made by each patient in consultation with his healthcare providers.11 Yet along with the potential false-positive problem, testing sometimes produces false-negatives, missing signs of cancer that could lead to complacency and treatment delays.12 Initial testing results may lead to a “watchful waiting” approach that keeps a lookout for symptoms or other signs that a low-risk or slow-growing cancer is spreading or has become more aggressive. Another option for men with low-risk prostate cancer may be “active surveillance,” which typically means twice-yearly PSA blood tests, an annual digital exam, and either biopsies, imaging, or both every one to three years.13
That can be a lot to deal with, but whatever the test results show, it’s important to remember that advances in both detection and treatment mean living with a prostate cancer diagnosis is increasingly possible, as seen by a more than 50 percent drop in the mortality rate between 1993 and 2023.14 The best defense—along with adopting a healthy lifestyle—starts with staying on top of the recommended prostate screening schedule.
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